Sebastien Pocognoli has said he will be "bursting with pride" when he takes charge of Scotland for the first time, as he prepares to face Slovenia in the Nations League on Saturday.
The 39-year-old Belgian is Steve Clarke's successor and will oversee a new-look international team. He looks set to hand Oli McBurnie a starting place in attack, with the Hull City striker having been left out of the squad for five years under the previous boss.
Pocognoli on the emotions of his debut
While Pocognoli did not confirm the exact make-up of his first starting XI, he admitted he will be dealing with feelings of immense pride and nervousness when he takes his bow in front of the travelling Tartan Army.
He said: "It's a big day. I'm going to represent Scotland and, for me, it's massive. You're representing the country. I know how big that is and I know how proud I am to do this."
"I need to stay aligned and to stay balanced. I need to keep the emotion on the side. But I'm very proud. I have come to your country and I just want to be successful. That's the main topic for me."
Timing of the appointment
Pocognoli believes he may have landed the job at the perfect moment, taking over from Clarke after Scotland qualified for three major finals, including this summer's World Cup in the USA.
He said: "Yeah, I have quite a good feeling and I hope I'm in the right place at the right moment. I hope we are going to have a good time together. That's the only thing that I hope for."
"My feeling is always positive. Even during negative moments I try to be positive. I know that 'patience' is a difficult word in modern football and I will try not to use it for too long. Hopefully we can see good things on the pitch straight from the start."
McBurnie set to lead the line
McBurnie looks set to lead the line despite having previously earned 16 caps without scoring a single goal for Scotland.
Pocognoli said of the striker: "He was very good in the camp - very humble and very quiet - but a hard worker on the pitch. He has a good bond with the lads."
"Honestly, I didn't pay too much attention to him because of what happened in the past. I wasn't there so I don't know but I heard things. But he's a tough worker on the pitch and he likes a joke outside of the pitch. He is very professional as well."
"I didn't know that he didn't score to be honest, so that was not a topic of our conversations. But I think it is exciting because he feels this is a moment to prove himself and, yeah, maybe to give something back for many reasons. That's only positive."
He added: "I would like him to play well first of all and for him to work hard off the ball, like he does for Hull City where he is so important. If he scores? Top. But the first thing is to work hard for the team and to make the other players better. I think he can do that."
