Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli has told the country's biggest clubs that they do not have enough Scots playing for them, urging them to sign more homegrown talent from their own league to strengthen his national squad.
The Belgian, who has been in the job for three months after succeeding Steve Clarke, has attended several Premiership matches as well as games in the SPFL's lower leagues. His main takeaway is that Scotland's leading clubs, including Rangers and Celtic, are short of Scottish talent.
Clubs urged to expose young players to Europe
Pocognoli believes the biggest teams should be exposing the country's best young players to European football, which would benefit both the clubs and the Scotland national side.
“The Scottish league misses Scottish players in the biggest teams,” he said. “The league is intense and competitive but I am not looking at this. I am looking at who is performing at the big clubs. As I believe that's the closest level to international level.”
“For that you need to play Champions League, Europa League, Conference League in some stage of the competition. So that is what I'm looking at.”
Pathway from lower clubs to top sides
The national team boss hopes players performing well at smaller clubs can move up to a top club within Scotland, making the competition more competitive and giving young Scottish players valuable European experience.
“I hope that players who are performing well, let's say in the bottom (clubs), can bounce to the next step to a top club inside this country,” he said. “That will make the competition more competitive.”
“Maybe you will go through after the winter in the Champions League or Europa League. That gives experience to the young Scottish players and in the end we'd get the benefit. That's what I'm looking at more in Scottish football rather than the clubs and the style of play in the league.”
Pocognoli acknowledged the challenge, noting that compared to Belgium, France and Germany, not many young players in Scottish competition get an opportunity to shine. He follows young players not only in the Premiership but also in the Championship and League One, where some are on loan.
Proposals and examples of young talent
The SFA and new chief football officer Craig Mulholland recently unveiled proposals, which have yet to be approved by clubs, aimed at giving more young Scottish players a first-team opportunity.
Pocognoli pointed to Celtic full-back Colby Donovan and Rangers winger Findlay Curtis as examples of talented youngsters who can perform at the highest level, saying their clubs could reap rewards if they keep faith in them.
“Colby is a good example. He played some good games for Celtic and I tried to help accelerate his progress (by selecting him for the last squad),” he said. “Then he signed a new contract and has played week after week. He is not selected this time but I think we will get the benefit later on.”
“For Findlay it's the same. He's not playing a lot at Rangers but I believe in his quality. We need to support those types of players because we need them. Hopefully it can help his pathway at Rangers to get some minutes. And I hope some other players will be on the same pathway this season.”
