Stephen Welsh has already had a pitch-side view of how successful Sebastien Pocognoli can be. The Swansea City star has been training under the new Scotland boss this week as he finalises his preparations for Saturday's Nations League opener in Slovenia.
Welsh has been impressed by the Belgian but he also had a bit of an inside track on him before he was appointed national coach back in August. The defender was on loan at Mechelen when Pocognoli stunned Belgian football by leading unfancied Royale Union Saint-Gilloise to the top-flight title in 2025.
Welsh's inside track on Pocognoli
Welsh admitted: "When I was in Belgium, he won the league with USG. They were brilliant and a top team. They played some really good attacking possession-based football. They liked to counter-press.
"USG winning the league with some of the big teams out there just speaks volumes about the job he did. It was some achievement. I remember speaking to a lot of the boys at Mechelen and they were surprised that USG won the league. They weren't one of the traditional big clubs but they made a major impact that season."
New era for Scotland
It will be the start of a new era for Scotland when his new-look side takes on Slovenia in the Stadion Stozice in Ljubljana. There are a lot of new caps and returning players as Pocognoli has put his mark on the squad. Welsh, Brondby's Luis Binks and Stoke City's Luke Graham are amongst the new central defenders in the squad.
Welsh confirmed: "I played against Luke for Stoke earlier in the season. He is a good player. Even at Dundee last season you could see he was confident on the ball. He is a big guy, has good speed and he also likes to play out from the back. Looking at the centre halves, the gaffer's philosophy is written all over it. He wants us to play out from the back and that suits me down to the ground. I have been used to that in my football career, at Celtic, under Jens (Berthel Askou) and now down at Swansea City. Hopefully, we can take that into the national team and I am sure we will."
The newly-shaped international windows now mean there are more games shoehorned in. Scotland face four Nations League games in this one. They play Slovenia home and away, are at home to Switzerland and away to North Macedonia.
Welsh's journey and club form
Welsh acknowledged: "There are going to be four games and we will be away longer than normal. I think it will suit us because we have the new manager and it will give his philosophy and the way he wants us to play as a team. He will also get a look at the players for the first time and he will also be setting everything up with his coaches. It is an exciting time."
Welsh has had to bide his time for his first full call-up, having previously been captain of the Scotland under-21s. The Scotland squad has allowed him to reunite with the likes of Billy Gilmour and Nathan Patterson. Welsh said: "I was captain of the 21s about four years ago. I was still playing at 22. It feels like a long time ago. I was playing with the likes of Lewis Mayo and Robbie Deas. Billy was involved in a couple of the squads and Nathan Patterson, but he also went up very quickly. There aren't a lot from my actual age group who have broken into the full team."
Welsh, not just thanks to his name, is in a good place club-wise. He made a summer switch to Swansea City and hasn't looked back. He has been a regular for Vitor Matos's side and helped take them to the top of the English Championship. It has been an eye-opening experience in the second tier coming up against the likes of former England star Jamie Vardy, who is now at Burnley.
"It has been a good first couple of months," the ex-Celtic player accepted. "The English Championship is very intense. Every game is very physical but every team also has a lot of quality. We played Burnley the other week. They are near the bottom of the league, but you should see the quality of some of their attacking players. Jamie Vardy also came on for the last 15 minutes. We knew with his pace in behind that he was going to be a threat. We dealt with their threat really well. They were brilliant and that is the sort of quality we face in every game. The quality has not surprised me but the physicality is massive and this league is also relentless—Tuesday and Saturday most weeks. There are some massive journeys as well, but as a football you prefer to play games.
"It has been a great experience so far and the way we are playing, we are doing really well and are up the top end of the league, so the games can't come quickly enough. As I say, it has been a good start but that is all it is. We know how hard it will be to try and maintain our start over the course of the season, although that will be our aim."
But before then is all focus on Scotland and making a winning start to the Nations League.
