John McGinn has warned the Tartan Army it might take 18 months for Sebastien Pocognoli to put his stamp on Scotland. The Hampden hero, who scored a double in the 2-1 win over North Macedonia on Friday night, has asked fans to be patient.
McGinn backs new boss despite slow start
McGinn is convinced the new Belgian boss will get it right after replacing Steve Clarke. But the Aston Villa captain says it might not happen in time for the Euro 2028 qualifiers which begin in March. Instead, McGinn insists it could take over a year for Pocognoli to get the national side firing on all cylinders.
The 32-year-old, who is now the country's joint-third top scorer of all time after his Hampden brace, said: "The manager's got a great reputation and a good record at both places he's been (USG and Monaco).
"The most important thing now in football is that individuals don't win you games. It's unity, team-work and everyone being on the same page. You see how successful clubs and countries do it. We want to be one of them.
Building for the future
"But it's not going to happen overnight. There's a lot to learn but on Friday night we created big chances in the game. We could have scored, three, four or five and it might have been a different story.
"But this isn't something that gets fixed in March, or even next September. It will start to build over the next 18 months."
Scotland need a victory against group leaders Switzerland in St Gallen on Monday night, and Slovenia to drop points in North Macedonia, to finish second in the table and secure a Pot 2 slot in the Euro 2028 qualifying draw on December 6.
No change in approach
McGinn knows how difficult it will be to defeat the Swiss away from home but is adamant that, under Pocognoli now, they won't change how they're going to play. He said: "It's a tough one against Switzerland but we want to be competing against these teams away, playing exactly the same way.
"We're going to stick at it. It's not going to be perfect for a while but we'll stick at it and on Monday night we'll be no different."
