Peak season has wound down a little around La Manga, but there is a surefire sign that Scotland are in town, and that the visitors are doing their best to acclimatise to the still sweltering late September heat.
From the training centre where the national side’s new head coach, Sebastien Pocognoli, has been introducing his ideas to his players and putting them through their paces, there is a single file of peely wally bodies strolling back to their luxury digs after another punishing session, past bemused ex-pat pensioners teeing off at the fifth. It is most definitely taps aff weather, and even without their training tops on, this most definitely is a group of Scots abroad.
But the players aren’t here for a holiday. The sweat is lashing off them, and for good reason. Pocognoli has had to cut at least one session short this week due to the effort being expended by this new-look Scotland squad, with the numbers being fed back by their GPS vests sending the large group of support staff that are here into a panic.
Despite their fondness for their old manager, Steve Clarke, old stagers like Andy Robertson, John McGinn and Ryan Christie are showing their support for the new man at the helm by setting the standard, while newcomers like Robbie Ure and Luis Binks are striving to make an impression and the most of their big chance.
On Tuesday, the travelling media were afforded the opportunity to watch the opening 15 minutes or so of the team’s morning session, and while there is a relaxed air around as the players make their way onto the pitch, there is an immediate switch when fitness coach Shayne Murphy blows his whistle to signal that it is time to get down to business.
The players rattle through their drills and rap passes into one another’s feet with purpose. There are new faces among the group, and young Kristi Montgomery of Blackburn Rovers catches the eye by the simple fact that he doesn’t look out of place at all.
There are high hopes for the 22-year-old, with one member of the Scotland backroom staff commenting that his physical profile brings to mind that of Jude Bellingham. The comparison is backtracked from there to avoid some unscrupulous hack like me producing headlines labelling him ‘The next Jude’, but there is no harm in reporting that there is a good deal of excitement around what Montgomery can bring to the national team in the future.
And on that subject, the presence of new Scotland under-21s manager Tony Docherty is a promising sign that his stated intention to work closely with Pocognoli and mirror what the senior side are doing with his own players was not simply a soundbite. He talks enthusiastically about the opportunity he has had to pick Pocognoli’s brains, and how excited he is to see his philosophy be applied right throughout the Scotland age groups.
We take our leave as the real work begins, and retreat to the shade of the team’s base where Pocognoli and some players will speak once they have recovered from the latest gruelling session.
The Belgian cuts a relaxed figure, and is open and amiable. But he also has that slight air of menace which all good managers possess, suggesting that his players would do well to stay on his good side, and adhere to the strict standards he expects them to meet when they are representing their country.
He takes questions about his philosophy, his impression of the group and even whether he has learned the words to Flower of Scotland yet in good grace. He talks of raising the bar, and while being respectful of the achievements of his predecessor, he lays out that qualification for major tournaments can no longer be Scotland’s benchmark of success.
He is ambitious, but is also mindful of the short time he has had with this group of players. He acknowledges that the wholesale changes he wishes to bring in, both in terms of formation – he looks certain to go with his favoured 3-4-1-2 setup from his days at US Gilloise and Monaco – and in the way he wants his team to press the opposition will take time to implement. He also knows though that pleading for patience is a futile exercise, and bats away a suggestion that the forthcoming Nations League matches are something of a free hit.
Team and staff meetings have been going on past midnight. There is a reluctance to overload the players with instruction, but at the same time, there is so much to get across in such a short space of time.
He may be new to Scotland, but Pocognoli is not naïve about the lay of the land. If he loses to Slovenia in his first match as manager on Saturday afternoon in Ljubljana, he is fully aware of the questions and the doubts that will follow.
For now, though, it all lies before him. Later in the evening, there is a chance to speak to Pocognoli and some of the backroom team in a more relaxed setting, and while it is obvious that they will be toeing the party line about how optimistic they are to see how this new era for Scotland will all shake out, their undoubted enthusiasm is difficult to fake.
There is excitement in the air, and the message is clear - the Tartan Army should be getting excited too.
The main reflection at the end of a productive few days in Spain is that there is hope once more around the national side after a deflating summer. And as Scots, we all know that it is the hope – and the humidity – that kills you.
