Meet the new boss. Very, very different, as it turns out, from the old boss.
Whatever your view of Steve Clarke (and in mine, due reverence has to be afforded to him for the job he did as Scotland manager, taking us from where we were to where he left us) there is no doubt that the Tartan Army, like a passenger trapped in a car on a cross-country drive with someone who is eating a can of Surströmming and has a Corpse Flower on the back seat, have been desperately gasping for a breath of fresh air.
And here he is. The Scottish FA surprised everyone with their bold choice to succeed Clarke, with 39-year-old Sebastien Pocognoli just about as far away from the traditional Scotland manager mould as it is possible to be.
Whether he is ultimately able to take the national side to the next level and break the glass ceiling of qualification out of the group stages at a major tournament – or indeed, even replicate Clarke by making qualification a regular occurrence – remains to be seen. But one quick skim through his first squad list for the forthcoming Nations League ties brought with it an undeniable frisson of excitement.
Some of the old-stagers were there, of course, and reassuringly so. It is vital that the likes of Andy Robertson, John McGinn, Kenny McLean and Ryan Christie buy into this new era, and aid the transition from what was, let’s not forget, a tightly knit group and a relative position of strength.
But fresh blood was what Scotland fans were after, and fresh blood they have. Luis Binks, Colby Donovan, Luke Graham, Stephen Welsh, Josh McPake and Robbie Ure are new faces around the squad, while Oli McBurnie’s long international hiatus has been ended too. Arguably (or certainly, in the case of McBurnie), none of those names would have been in the squad had Clarke remained in charge.
It is hard to dispute that the broom the Belgian has swept through the Scotland squad was just the tonic that was required after another disappointing summer on the big stage, but just as importantly, it seems the arrival of Pocognoli - and before him, new chief football officer Craig Mulholland - has brought a zest to what had become a stale and ultimately flawed national team setup.
Where once there were silos, with teams at different age groups operating in their own wee worlds, there is now alignment. New under-21 manager Tony Docherty and coaches all the way down the chain are working closely with Pocognoli to replicate the sort of style that will, theoretically, make it easier for players to progress through the ranks. And, crucially, know what is required of them if and when they do get to the senior side.
Some patience, of course, may be required. If these opening Nations League matches don’t go according to plan, it is vital that there is a national, collective keeping of the heid. That the fans, and the media, it should be said, don’t ultimately jump to the conclusion that Scotland’s second foreign head coach has gone the same way as the first, and that we have another Berti Vogts on our hands.
A new start and a pivot away from the past is what the vast majority of us have been crying out for. A brave new dawn. And the arrival of Pocognoli and the revamp of the national team set-up from the ground up is bolder than any of us would have predicted or expected from the SFA. So, let’s give them some credit where it’s due, and some time for it all to bear fruit.
In terms of Pocognoli himself, he comes across as a thoughtful, engaging character with interesting ideas on how the game should be played, and he spoke intriguingly about his belief that Scotland can go out on the front foot and dominate the opposition.
Contrary to what another summer of navel-gazing about the lack of young Scottish talent and the paucity of quality in our national side might have you believe, he is adamant that we can aspire to more than being a team whose primary goal is to hang on in there and try to land a counter punch or two somewhere along the line. That we have the players to actually, well, play.
At a time when more and more of our clubs are looking to modernise their style and there seems to be a sea change in attitudes towards a more expansive approach in the domestic game, it is heartening to see similarly lofty ideals being applied to the national side.
Even something as simple as that positive outlook will come as a refreshing change from what came before to many, with the perception of Clarke being that he was just a wee bit dour, and that his team often reflected his personality.
That was slightly unfair on both counts, with Clarke possessing a dry sense of humour and his teams providing some moments that will live on forever in Scotland folklore, but there is no denying that the thought of a new proactive approach rather than a reactive one as we often witnessed under Clarke is a welcome change of tack.
Heck, Pocognoli even appeared happy to see the media as they filed into his squad announcement press conference at Hampden yesterday. We’ll see how long that lasts.
All in all, though, it has been difficult not to be impressed by Pocognoli, and it is hard not to be excited by what he has had to say about the future direction of Scotland.
With all due respect and thanks to Clarke, that in itself is a nice change, is it not?
