Stephen Welsh praised Sebastien Pocognoli's calm, composed half-time message and tactical tweaks that transformed Scotland's second-half display in the Nations League draw with Slovenia.
A Manager's First Test
Welsh has played under Brendan Rodgers, Ange Postecoglou and Jens Berthel-Askou, so he knows a decent manager when he sees one. On Saturday at half-time in the away dressing-room at the Skozice Stadium in Ljubljana, he believes he witnessed another top coach at work.
His Scotland debut was not going to plan after 45 minutes in the Nations League against Slovenia. New gaffer Sebastien Pocognoli, in charge of the national team for the first time, had to earn his stripes with his squad. After a poor first-half performance that was slow, disjointed and lacking rhythm, the Belgian faced his first test as Scotland manager.
Calm and Composed
Welsh feels he passed it with flying colours. His side might not have scored the winning goal they deserved against the Slovenians and had to settle for a Group 1 point. But it was a much improved display that saw them create a hatful of chances and dominate the hosts in their own half.
Pocognoli's tactical tweaks at the break fixed the team's problems and the players responded. The Swansea City centre-back was impressed by the new boss's input and his calmness under pressure.
Afterwards, he said: "He wasn't angry or shouting, or anything like that. He was very calm and composed in the message that he gave us. He showed us some details on the video and told us what we needed to change. Full credit to him because it worked."
Second-Half Dominance
"He told us we are good players and that we could figure it out ourselves on the pitch. But with the tweaks he made, I think that showed real top-quality coaching, to be honest. Because we dominated the second half."
"The first half was frustrating. I thought we took some time to get control of the game. We changed a few things at half-time and we were really good second half. The gaffer basically just said we needed to be sharper, we needed to be better."
"He told us we're top players playing at a good level - so just go and show it. He changed the shape a little bit, which gave us more control in the game."
Positive Outlook
"And I thought we were really good. The chances we created in the second half were what we had been working towards over the last week. So there are a lot of positives to take from the game. Keeping a clean sheet on my debut is something I'm proud of."
"As a back five, and Angus Gunn as well, that's what you want. I don't think Slovenia had many chances in the second half, which is a positive for us."
Scotland were guilty of passing up gilt-edged chances to take the game away from Slovenia in the second 45 minutes. With Pocognoli's back three pushed further up the pitch, they smothered the home side. The only thing missing was a goal, and strikers Oli McBurnie and Kieron Bowie both squandered big opportunities to bag their first at international level. But Welsh refused to be downbeat in the aftermath.
Looking Ahead to Switzerland
He is convinced Scotland's front players will start firing and insists the Tartan Army have plenty to be optimistic about after Pocognoli's dug-out debut. The former Celtic and Motherwell defender said: "At this level, it's about taking your chances. Slovenia has a really top goalie in Jan Oblak. And I don't think many other keepers in Europe would make those kind of saves as often as he did."
"But we need to look at the positives. We got into some really good areas and created chances. It's just about taking them. It's a decent enough start for us but there's also a lot for us still to work on and build on. I have huge faith in our strikers. They all play at a top level. I think I'd be more worried if we weren't getting any chances."
"We created so many and it's very important that we keep feeding the strikers, because once the goals come, I think we'll be a real top team. Should the fans be excited by that second half? Absolutely, because we've only had five days."
"Slovenia have been together for a couple of years now. The work we've put in over the last five days paid off in the second half because the performance was much better. It's now about starting on Tuesday night against Switzerland in the right way. We will have a big crowd right behind us as well, which I'm sure will help."
That is the next test for Pocognoli and his new-look side. The Swiss will be a step up in class from Slovenia on Tuesday night, and they signalled their Nations League intent by hammering North Macedonia 3-0 in Skopje on Saturday.
Welsh said: "Switzerland is a top team. They got to the quarter-finals of the World Cup and were really close to reaching the semi-finals. So we know it's going to be a challenge. But we know that we've got quality in the changing room."
"We've also got quality off the bench as well. You saw that when Ben Gannon-Doak came on. He probably gave us something a little bit different to what we had before. We know it's going to be a tough test but it's at home so we can use the Hampden crowd to our advantage. It's up to us to put on a good performance."
