New Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli has admitted he once followed in the footsteps of Graeme Souness by planting a flag on the pitch – but he now warns against too much passion.
In 2012, Pocognoli was playing for Belgian side Standard Liege. After a derby win against bitter rivals Charleroi, he planted his club’s flag in the middle of the pitch in an act of defiance, invoking memories of Scottish legend Graeme Souness, who had done the same in Istanbul when his Galatasaray side beat Fenerbahce in the Turkish Cup.
Pocognoli was unveiled to the media at Hampden yesterday as Steve Clarke’s surprise successor. The former Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco coach has been charged by the SFA to take the national team to the next level. The challenge won’t faze the 39-year-old, who has signed a contract to the end of Euro 2028.
Finding the balance
Pocognoli is passionate about the game, developing young players, and Scottish football, but he has learned his lesson from 14 years ago when the Charleroi police were keen to have a word with him.
Pocognoli said: “Be careful with passion, also. Too much passion can be too much and you cross the line. You need to find the balance. To be analytical as well as passionate. If you only just react with passion, you make mistakes. I’m passionate but I also try to be analytical.
“I’m very energetic on the touchline and in my relationship with players. But I also try to be calm in the right moments because you need to make good choices and have a clear head. You also need a good staff around you to help give you advice.
“Passion, yes it’s good. But you cannot react to everything with fire. That was 14 years ago and I was a young wolf. But it was too much and I won’t do that again. Where I come from, the passion for football is massive. Maybe it’s my Italian blood. I was born with a ball at my feet.
“So I’m a passionate person and this country is also very passionate. That’s something I really like, that human aspect. In football these days, there is a lot about the technical side. For me, Monaco was totally different. It was a nice experience but it made me realise that I miss this passion.”
Developing young players
Pocognoli is a bold appointment by the SFA and, in terms of his style, a radical change from Clarke. He doesn’t have a lot of time to implement his methods. In just five weeks, he’ll take a squad to Slovenia for the first Nations League game.
The Belgian knows he has to get results but, at the same time, try to evolve Clarke’s squad and bring through more talent. He’s not about to rip everything up, but he’s convinced there are young players coming through who can improve the side.
Pocognoli said: “I have to find the right balance (in the Nations League) between trying to get the right results - otherwise you’ll be on me - but also finding the opportunity to develop some players. When you test or try things, it’s partly a risk. You have to accept that.
“I’ll try to get a result but also be ready for what is coming next season. I want to go through that process and challenge. It’s in my baggage to work with young players. At the end of my playing career, I was in the academies at USG and Genk, as well as the national team. At Union, the project was to develop players. That’s what I do. At Monaco, in a short space of time, I developed many good players. They sold a lot of them this summer and I was only there for six months.
“That shows what I can do. But with the national team, you need to have support from the clubs and I hope I can stimulate this. It’s a trap to want to change too much. What I’ve inherited is very strong. Scotland have been brought back on to the map and the team is experienced. We have players who have won titles and that’s massive to use. But yes, if you want to continue, you also have to bring in new players, give them a chance, a test. The key is finding the right balance and choice for the qualifiers.
“I think there are some exciting names who will come. But it will depend on who’s progressing at their clubs. It’s not easy for players to go to Italy for example with a very specific football culture. But it can be a positive for Scottish football. There are a lot of names to follow. But I also want to see these young names grow at the top clubs in Scotland.”
Risk and reward football
So what should the Tartan Army expect to see from a Pocognoli side? His philosophy feels significantly different to Clarke’s. The Belgian has vowed to play risk and reward football. He wants to utilise the natural Scottish traits positively and attempt to adopt an exciting, attacking style.
Pocognoli said: “Like many coaches, I want us to be dominant. Of course, it’s easy to say be dominant on paper and in training tell that to the players. But to make it happen in their heads and in games is a big difference.
“I like to defend on the front foot and be high up the pitch. The risk is to give some space at the back. But there is more chance to be dangerous high up the pitch. So yes, to be direct, have good passing options but also keep the qualities of Scottish football - be passionate, win more duels than the opponent.
“That to me is very important. We have strong abilities. It is up to me to put this into the players so they can believe they can achieve this. I hope I can bring my ideas.”
