Sebastien Pocognoli is correct to call for patience as he embarks upon the onerous task of turning Scotland into a side that can compete at major tournaments instead of stinking the place out over and over again.
There’s one big issue to be decided over the coming week-and-a-bit, though, that doesn’t afford the Belgian that luxury. In these four Nations League fixtures that contain such intrigue and fascination over what comes next for the national side, Pocognoli needs to make a big call on whether he was right to offer Oli McBurnie a route back in from the cold.
He needs to decide whether this guy is seriously capable of leading the line on the international scene or just another one of these players who does well until he reaches a certain level and then toils to make the step up.
That sounds harsh on McBurnie, that everything he claims he has been working towards since being frozen-out of the Scotland set-up five years ago should be put firmly on the line in a ten-day period under a new boss and a whole new set-up.
However, that’s surely the way it is. Pocognoli has a defined remit with the Scottish FA. It’s not just about figuring out a way to get to big tournaments. We’re past that now. It’s about going to Euro 2028, in particular, and getting through the group stage before making a fist of it in the knockouts.
Of course, the former Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco coach has arrived in this job at a good moment. He has the breathing space to experiment with players and systems and should be given it by all of us.
Hull City striker Oli McBurnie has been handed another chance to prove himself with Scotland
The fact a place at Euro 2028 is reserved for the highest-ranked home nation which doesn’t make it through the conventional qualifying route means Scotland should be there no matter what happens in the intervening period.
That’s some safety net. It lets Pocognoli take risks and look at things he might not have been able to otherwise. He’s perfectly justified in running the rule over McBurnie.
Yet, right from kick-off in today’s meeting with Slovenia in Ljubljana, there must also be a focus on building a cohesive team over a long-term basis. He needs to be identifying the players who fit best into the end result he has in his mind.
Centre-forward is one position where everything certainly feels up for grabs. The World Cup did little for the longer-term aspirations of Che Adams and Lawrence Shankland, both injured and absent from Pocognoli’s first get-together.
They struggled. Adams being left out of the final, all-important group clash with Brazil in Miami was a surprise and maybe an acceptance that he’s had plenty of opportunities in games of that importance and never really taken them.
Pocognoli needs someone with the potential to deliver more, and it’s why the onus lies on McBurnie to confront the concern that he’s just another guy with certain limitations – ie he’s good in the English Championship and not really anywhere else – and prove he has learned and matured the way he says he has.
Like Adams and Shankland, he is in his thirties. By the time Euro 2028 rolls around, he will be 32. On that basis alone, arguing that he should be the frontman Pocognoli hangs his hat upon is a challenge.
McBurnie fires a shot on goal against Israel at Hampden in the Euro 2020 play-off semi-final
McBurnie is also fortunate to be getting this second bite at the cherry. Outwith scoring a penalty in the shoot-out win over Serbia that took Scotland to Euro 2020 – a confident, sidefooted effort that sent the keeper the wrong way, in case you don’t remember – he offered precious little in his 16 appearances in dark blue between 2018 and 2021 to suggest he is an international striker.
There’s also that whole unsightly business from 2019 when he was caught by the media team at Sheffield United, where he then played, talking to team-mate John Fleck in the tunnel and saying he hoped he wasn’t called up by Scotland because the set-up was ‘s***e’.
Yes, people make mistakes. Yes, they can change. The suggestion that being 23, though, was some kind of mitigating factor doesn’t wash. At 23, serious players are making serious inroads in their careers. McBurnie is always going to be in a difficult position with certain members of the Tartan Army over that outburst of silliness and only something extra-special early on in his return can alter that.
Nineteen goals last season or not, when Hull City were in the Championship, few people were suggesting he should go to North America in the summer. Sure, he’s a regular now the Tigers are in the Premier League and has shown up well so far, but he still hasn’t scored. He still has to put together a consistent run of form in that arena.
He was 24 years old when he last played for Scotland and unless he can show he is a fundamentally different player – a totally different option – from then, your inclination is to go with one of the younger and more exciting options now on the scene.
Guys, basically, who are at an age which suggests there is plenty of growth and progression in them that Pocognoli can harness and encourage as he constructs his own vision of the future.
Sevilla’s Robbie Ure, fresh from going up against Barcelona’s Rodri, is another striking option
Robbie Ure, aged 22, is such a great advert for self-belief, perseverance and adventure. Quitting Rangers as a kid because he couldn’t see a first-team pathway and then really taking his chance at Swedish champions IK Sirius is admirable stuff that should give young players everywhere hope.
In blasting Sirius towards the Allsvenskan title, he had scored 20 goals this season before leaving for Sevilla in a deal potentially worth £7.6million during the summer. He certainly has the confidence of head coach Luis Garcia Plaza, having been given the No9 shirt, and played the full 90 minutes against Barcelona last weekend before leaving for international duty.
He hasn’t scored in four starts from seven outings, but the gut feeling you get from the Andalusian outfit and their fans is that they are pretty happy with him and see better things ahead.
Kieron Bowie, at 24, has also moved clubs, leaving Verona for Sassuolo on loan with a view to a future £10m transfer. He still seems to be finding his way in Italy somewhat and has dropped to the role of substitute in the last couple of weeks, scoring against Juventus a fortnight back, but has definite attributes.
One of many interesting elements to look out for in these matches is just how Pocognoli intends to shape up. At Union Saint-Gilloise, he built his title-winning success on three at the back.
Given the personnel at his disposal with Scotland, sticking with that foundation is more likely to see him go with just one central striker with two players behind in a 3-4-2-1.
New Scotland boss Sebastien Pocognoli will field a much-changed Scots line-up in Ljubljana
A fit-again Scott McTominay and John McGinn would fit those roles. Maybe even a Ben Gannon-Doak if he can get himself into the Bournemouth starting XI, which, in truth, isn’t looking likely right now and could become a bit of a problem.
That means competition to be the lone guy up top is going to be dog-eat-dog. It also means people have to take their chances when they come and live with being judged on relatively little game time.
That three-goal loss to Brazil at the World Cup showed that Shankland, for example, is not going to be the man to play up front on his tod against high-class opposition going forward.
It’s not unfair to be readying yourself to judge McBurnie the same way. He’s all the man, all the player, he is ever going to be. And if Scotland are going to become more than a team just happy to get the bunting out because they make it to a finals now and again, it’s going to take hard decisions to get there.
