Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli has defended the unprecedented length of the current international break, insisting it was exactly what he needed to bed in during his first camp in charge. The Belgian, who has overseen one win, one draw and one defeat in his opening three games, says the extended period allowed him to accelerate his work with the squad.
Four-week break defended by new boss
Top-level club football has been paused for four weeks for the ongoing international window, a move that has drawn criticism from several high-profile coaches, including Italy's Roberto Mancini, Netherlands boss Xavi and Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho, who feel players are being overworked. Scotland round off the break with a rematch against Slovenia at Hampden on Sunday as they look to keep the pressure on Nations League B Group E leaders Switzerland.
Speaking to the media ahead of that match, Pocognoli said: "I think it's a long four weeks to be fair but it was needed for my timeline with the group. The first week in Spain was gold and it was my job to manage each second of the camp regarding what we want to produce as quick as possible."
Pocognoli happy with camp progress
The former Monaco and Union Saint Gilloise coach added: "I am very happy. I can imagine that for some countries who played in the World Cup with the same coach and the same group of players it can be a long camp. But for us it was fantastic to find the windows through the camp and have a mental reset, because it can be long when you are together each day and are travelling so much. But we try to find the balance."
Pocognoli also confirmed that Rangers winger Findlay Curtis is available for selection against Slovenia after being released to feature for Scotland U21s in their clash with Azerbaijan last week. He explained that the decision was part of building a bridge between the senior and under-21 setups.
Curtis available after U21s outing
He said: "Regarding what we try to build as a connection with the under-21 group, we selected Findlay because he deserved to be here. But he needed playing time and the fact that (under-21s boss) Tony (Docherty) is playing a similar style of play to us, it's a good window for him to show it live and he did fantastically well against Azerbaijan."
"It was clear for us that we want to make this bridge between the two groups, to show also that when you do well, you come back, and it is also a signal for the rest of the group." Scotland face Slovenia on Sunday before meeting Switzerland and North Macedonia again next month.
