Sebastien Pocognoli says that he will not try to convince players to represent Scotland, after he was questioned on the possibility of Newcastle United’s Harvey Barnes and Everton’s Hayden Hackney earning call-ups to the national setup.
Pocognoli named his first squad as Scotland manager yesterday, and he included England youth international Luis Binks among the 28 players selected after the Brondby captain had left him in no doubt about where his international allegiances now lay.
Barnes had previously held talks with Pocognoli’s predecessor Steve Clarke about representing Scotland, but turned down the opportunity to join his squad ahead of the World Cup in the summer, while Hackney has represented both Scotland and England at under-21 level.
While stressing that the door has not been closed on Barnes despite that snub, or anyone else for that matter, the Belgian has said he will not be begging anyone to pull on the dark blue.
“I think the most important is that I don't need to convince players to represent their country,” Pocognoli said.
“For me it's timing, the timing was right with him [Binks]. We can’t avoid the topic about many players who can eventually be there for the same situation, but the feeling and the timing about him was the right one. But if I have to convince players to represent Scotland, he will not be there.
“Like I said, it's about timing. Just about the feeling. And the doors are never closed. So we will see the future. But we just need to feel if it's the right timing or not.”
