Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli believes Billy Gilmour can become the "smiling assassin" of his bold rebrand and a key man for the country for years to come. The Napoli midfielder impressed in the second half of Saturday's 0-0 Nations League draw in Slovenia, as the new manager began his international career with an indifferent start.
Gilmour is expected to be central to Pocognoli's plans again for the Hampden visit of Switzerland. The coach has revealed how he first became a huge fan of the Ayrshireman years ago, when Gilmour was a rising star of the English Premier League at Brighton.
Manager's praise for Gilmour's understanding
Pocognoli said: "Billy had a good second half on Saturday and I really enjoyed it. If you have a player who plays one touch without even looking where he puts the ball it means that he understands the game plan."
"My comment to him was to bring this on the pitch because we don't have a lot of players like this. Even Switzerland don't. I need to make sure that he finds his smile on the pitch and he was smiling after the game. I saw the Billy from Brighton in Slovenia."
"At Napoli it is a little bit different, it is more thinking about off the ball. But when he can play he is smiling. He will make mistakes, he played a couple of bad passes against Slovenia. But he has to take the risks to play like that to see his qualities."
Freeing Gilmour for a more offensive role
Pocognoli believes freeing Gilmour from more defensive responsibilities will add greater craft and firepower to Scotland's attack. He said: "I see him there, higher up the pitch. If you see the goal he scored for Napoli last week, it shows his ability to do this."
"He almost scored in Slovenia with a fantastic combination with Oli McBurnie. He needs to be higher up the pitch because he can also make assists from there as well. If he is lower in the pitch, he will be less dangerous. I think that Lewis Ferguson has more of a defensive mindset and Billy is more offensive."
"I just want Billy to enjoy his football with a smile. If he can do that, the rest will come. I want to see this level from him again — and I think we can produce a style of play to help him. If these type of players can be happy after a game, it usually means that we had a good game and played well."
