Robbie Ure made his Scotland debut in the goalless Nations League draw with Slovenia, hitting the post and earning praise from boss Sebastien Pocognoli, and is now hungry for more caps. The 22-year-old Sevilla striker started up front in the Belgian boss's first game in charge at the Stozice Stadium, partnering Oli McBurnie in a new-look line-up.
Ure almost marked his debut with a dream goal when he struck the post just before half-time. After a difficult first 45 minutes, Scotland improved after the break and should have won, with McBurnie and substitute Kieron Bowie both missing big chances.
Pocognoli's pep talk boosts Ure's belief
Ure says a personal pep talk from Pocognoli helped give him the belief to perform at international level. "I really enjoyed it. In the first half we suffered at times but we stuck together well and changed one or two things at the break," he said.
"In the second half, I think we controlled the game. We created a lot of good chances and probably should have won it in the end. For me personally, I'm really happy. I enjoyed it and I'm hungry for more."
"If my shot hit the inside of the post in the first half it's probably a goal. But the keeper covered it well. Maybe on another day, I could have gone across the goal. I was unlucky."
Facing World Cup winners in club action
Ure's debut came just a week after starting for Sevilla against Barcelona in La Liga, where he faced Spanish World Cup winning duo Pau Cubarsi and Eric Garcia. "In the last month I have played against World Cup winning centre-backs," he said. "So I was just trying to take confidence from those experiences."
He added: "I was given a lot of confidence before the game from the gaffer, a lot of trust and belief to go out and play. I'm also playing with quality players as well so it was a great feeling. He talked to me about the level I'm playing at for my club, saying it's a top level, and just told me to go out and play my game."
Scotland's second-half dominance and missed chances
Scotland missed a host of chances in the second half as they dominated Slovenia. After Pocognoli's half-time team talk, they played with more aggression and intensity, which resulted in gilt-edged opportunities in front of goal. McBurnie and Bowie should have scored, but Ure is convinced if they keep carving out chances they'll eventually start firing for the new boss.
"With the number of chances we created, it gives us a lot of belief going into the next few games, for sure," he said. "We've got quality players all around the pitch so we're always confident that we'll make chances. When we get them, we need to start taking them. Hopefully that will change on Tuesday."
"The manager changed the structure up front at half-time. Oli dropped in more and was really dangerous on the ball. We counter-pressed when we lost the ball to try and keep our momentum and keep attacking. We did really well and they didn't have anything in the second half."
Ure's shirt name choice surprises team-mates
Ure surprised everyone - even his own Scotland team-mates - by having his full name on the back of his shirt in Slovenia. He does the same in Spain with his club and says he prefers it that way because his surname isn't long enough.
"I have the same at my club. Firstly, a lot of people just call me Robbie. So when I was changing club I just thought I'd include Robbie on my shirt. I don't actually like the look of 'Ure' on the shirt because it's so small, so I made the change when I moved to Sevilla," he said.
"I think I prefer it. I know the other way is the usual way in Scotland but it's not the usual way in a lot of other countries in the world. I got asked the same thing by my team-mates before the game when they saw my shirt hanging up. It was the first question they asked me!"
