Oli McBurnie has received firm backing from Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli despite still waiting for his first international goal, with the Hull City striker already assured of a place in next month's Nations League squad.
Pocognoli recalled McBurnie after five years out of the national team under Steve Clarke, and the Belgian insists the striker's return has been a success even if the goals have not yet arrived.
Pocognoli defends McBurnie's contribution
Speaking ahead of tonight's match against Slovenia, Pocognoli said he does not judge McBurnie on goals alone.
“Maybe I see it differently because I do not look to the past,” he said. “For me, when he started it was like bringing in a player with zero caps. In the first match against Slovenia he had a great game.
“He should have scored once - he knows that - and against Switzerland it was difficult to judge because we went down to ten men so early in the game. But he produced something that the crowd appreciated.
“They saw that and they are now maybe more in love with each other. That was like scoring a goal for him. In Macedonia he produced a lot of good action to be dangerous and maybe he should have scored one if we gave him the cross but that moment will arrive. I don't make an issue out of it.
“He was desperate to come back, so that is good. He was desperate to show that he is proud to be there, that is OK. I just want to make sure that he is not just focused on that.”
Bowie impresses after quick rise
Pocognoli has also been encouraged by the form of Kieron Bowie, who scored a stunning opener in Saturday's 2-0 win over North Macedonia in Skopje.
“Yes, there are more options. But they are not all here. We have two young lads and one who has just come back, so it is like three faces in terms of strikers,” he said.
“And you have Shankland who is not here, Che Adams who is not here and James Wilson, who was with us and is now with the Under 21s and did very well for them to be fair. So we will have everybody all together and we will try and make a selection for the next camp.”
Bowie was sacrificed after only 10 minutes against Switzerland last week following Jack Hendry's red card, but Pocognoli was keen to start him against Macedonia.
“I tried to be logical. The lad did not deserve to be put out of the game. Sometimes it can be like this. But there was no reason to not start him against Macedonia on Saturday. And Oli fought like a lion alone on an island against Switzerland. That cost him a lot of energy.
“He did well in the first half against Macedonia but he also looked tired. So I substituted him and left Kieron in attack.”
Expectations rising under new manager
Asked if the nation might be right to be excited at Bowie's sudden arrival, Pocognoli said: “Yeah, I'm excited. I'm not surprised, I watched all of his games last season at Hibernian and in Verona.
“He's the type of striker that we need in the way that we want to play. He needs to improve many things, but he's already a very good striker, and he is young.
“Probably his instinct in the box, sometimes he looks too much at the target. Sometimes you just have to hit it, and that is the next step for him, because he scores difficult goals. In and around the box, he can be a little bit more clinical.”
Pocognoli, who took charge just three games ago, believes expectation levels are rising in line with the passion of the country.
“I think the expectation is relative to the passion of the country. The supporters are really crazy for football and they have an idea about the Scotland players,” he said.
“They see John McGinn with the Europa League and other players winning the Champions League and other competitions and they think, 'OK, they can do it also for the national team,' But it's not that easy.
“It's normal after that that the supporters want more. It is the same in life. When you get something, you want more. The supporters are the same. They just want to put the dream higher.
“But that is the only way to progress, to try to match the expectation levels. We need to make the expectations as high as possible regarding what we put on the pitch, but the expectation is also to enjoy the football and what they see on the pitch.
“I am already busy with this and I am a big believer that if you produce good things on the pitch the expectations will align. Let's see what the future brings and I hope we can bring some smiles for the supporters.”
