Sebastien Pocognoli says that his players are ‘all in’ as he bids to reshape the national side in his image, with the new Scotland head coach even having to cut a training session short to protect his men.
The Belgian has taken his new-look squad to La Manga for a training camp ahead of his first match as Scotland manager against Slovenia in Ljubljana on Saturday night.
There a host of new faces that have made the journey to Murcia - with 15 of the 27 selected not making the World Cup squad - alongside some stalwarts of the Steve Clarke era, but Pocognoli senses a desire within each of them to buy into his ideas, which is being reflected in their efforts on the training field in the sweltering Spanish heat.
“It’s been good,” Pocognoli said.
“I could see straight away that they were excited to be in the squad. I could see their smiles so that was the first good signal.
“For some players, it was like their first day at school and they were a little bit nervous, in a positive way. We then had our first squad meeting where we broke the ice to interact with everyone.
“We had our first training session after we arrived here in Spain and it was good. Then again today, it was good again. We have started to go through the principles, and the players were all in. That’s a good start, to be honest.
“We decided to just skip the last block [of training] because the players did so well. It was quite hot. Sometimes you just need to finish with a good feeling.”
Pocognoli himself is all in when it comes to immersing himself in the culture of the Scotland team, and he revealed that he will be giving Flower of Scotland a go, if not in Ljubljana, then certainly when he takes his Hampden bow against Switzerland next Tuesday night.
“Yeah, I try to understand the anthem,” he said.
“I am quite excited to be at home for the first Hampden game and to just live it and be there. I think I will feel what Scotland means because right now we are in a bubble, but when we have the Switzerland game I will really feel part of the family. I hope we will have a great game to have a good start at home.
"I will do what I feel is the best. And I think that I would like to do it."
