Widely regarded as a bold and refreshing appointment by the Scottish Football Association after the Steve Clarke era ground to a halt, Sebastien Pocognoli became Scotland manager with a reputation for playing entertaining front-foot football which could still deliver results.
While there’s been wide acknowledgement that the Belgian is going to need time for his ideas to take root and manifest themselves in positive results, four points from four Nations League games represents slow progress.
If Saturday’s win in Skopje felt like a step forward, then the manner of the defeat to Slovenia at Hampden was a reality check.
Pocognoli’s players now need an extraordinary turn of events to finish second in their section and become a pot two team in the Euro 2028 draw in December.
Sebastien Pocognoli has some big issues to ponder ahead of the next Scotland match
Of greater concern in the long run, though, was how unconvincing the side were across the elongated international break.
With just a month to go before the campaign concludes with a home game with North Macedonia and a trip to Switzerland, Daily Mail Sport looks at the key issues which the manager must ponder.
Tear up the system or double down on it?
At both Union SG and Monaco, Pocognoli fielded three-at-the-back so no one should be in any way surprised that that is how his Scotland side are set up.
Is he trying to shoe-horn players into a 3-4-2-1 when a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 might better suit their talents? It would appear so.
Ben Gannon-Doak, the squad’s most explosive player, is a winger by trade. Try as he might, he doesn’t really have the skill set for the defensive side of the game.
Oli McBurnie is a striker who needs someone alongside him. Little wonder his goal drought in Dark Blue has now extended to 20 matches.
As compelling as the argument is for the Belgian to change tack and put more square pegs in square holes by reverting to the back-four that was briefly witnessed late in Tuesday’s match, that’s just not going to happen.
Tony Docherty travelled to La Manga so he could get up to speed on Pocognoli’s blueprint to ensure players moving up from his under-21 side are already prepared for the demands. So, ripping it up and starting again just doesn’t appear to be an option.
Can it be tweaked?
Absolutely. And it can also be better executed.
Essentially, the plan is for the defence to play a high line, thus cutting down the distances between them and the midfield and the front line. This is designed to limit the space in which the opponents can win possession and play. The high press also designed to shut them off at source and prevent players from simply knocking the ball over the top into the vacant space.
Pocognoli’s main gripe after Tuesday was that his players didn’t get their distances right, meaning they were not compact and their press was rendered ineffective. Slovenia played through them too easily. He also picked up on the defence’s tendency to drop deep – contradicting the game plan. For the system to work, the players must be braver and more aggressive in its execution.
Scotland were better when Billy Gilmour stepped forward to essentially become a third No10 in a 3-3-3-1. All too briefly, Slovenia struggled to get out. We can expect more of this.
Kieron Bowie, who surprisingly started on the bench, looks comfortable playing the lone striker role. McBurnie would benefit from having someone beside him, perhaps in a 3-4-1-2. One possible way to get Gannon-Doak into the team without exposing his defensive limitations would be playing him centrally.
Angus Gunn has struggled for form in Scotland’s Nations League campaign
Are the gloves off?
For so long, Scotland managers were spoiled for choice when it came to goalkeepers. It’s now the problem position.
Three keepers travelled to the World Cup. Craig Gordon has since retired while Liam Kelly doesn’t get a regular game for Rangers.
Angus Gunn featured in the three games in the US despite playing just once for Nottingham Forest last season.
Now a regular in the MLS with San Jose – he’s made 11 appearances this term – the hope was that he’d arrive for Pocognoli’s first camp razor sharp.
Alas, that’s been wishful thinking. Gunn could have done better with two of Switzerland’s goals last week and should have prevented Aljosa Matko from netting Slovenia’s first.
But aside from his questionable shot-stopping, Gunn is not the best with the ball at his feet.
In terms of the current options available, that accolade belongs to Scott Bain – a keeper who can hold his own playing outfield at training. The difficulty is, of course, that his form with Falkirk has shaded from last season.
It feels like a question of Pocognoli keeping a watching brief on this before naming his squad for North Macedonia and Switzerland. There’s a lot to be said for just playing the man on form.
Is it time to draw a line under McBurnie in a Scotland jersey?
As the 13th minute came and went on Tuesday, the Hull forward chalked up an unwanted milestone. That of playing 1000 minutes in Dark Blue and not finding the back of the net.
You’d have needed a heart of stone not to feel for the player as his 20th cap proved to be another episode filled with frustration.
The less said the better about his attempt to fire into an unguarded net on 31 minutes. Fortunately, Ryan Christie then backheeled the loose ball home.
Hull City striker Oli McBurnie has now failed to score in 20 Scotland appearances
You absolutely cannot fault McBurnie’s desire to succeed with Scotland. In La Manga, he spoke with pride about being recalled by Pocognoli and with humility about why Steve Clarke had overlooked him for so long.
But you cannot ignore the evidence of your own eyes. The 19 goals he hit in Hull’s promotion campaign have not yet translated into a one at the start of the Pocognoli era.
With Che Adams likely to be available for the next double header and with Bowie having scored and caught the eye, McBurnie’s spot in the squad looks vulnerable.
How does Scott McTominay fit in?
Having undergone a procedure for a mild, benign arrhythmia on September 8, he has now resumed individual training with Napoli and is awaiting final medical checks to regain the necessary clearance to resume playing.
With his first-team return imminent – possibly as soon as this weekend against Frosinone – the midfielder should be available for Pocognoli’s next camp.
The days of him being used as a centre-half are – hopefully – over, it’s a matter of where the Belgian slots him in and who he displaces. Deployed by his club as either a No8 or a No10, it seems unlikely that he’ll tread on the toes of Lewis Ferguson or his club-mate Gilmour, who tend to play deeper.
The smart money would be on the manager perming any two from the three of McTominay, John McGinn and Ryan Christie and using them as the support to the forward.
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