Sebastien Pocognoli denies Scotland pressure claim and reveals team plans after 'dead game'

Sebastien Pocognoli is optimistic Scotland can notch their first win of his reign in North Macedonia on Saturday but the Belgian dismissed any notion that there is extra pressure on his team to deliver a positive result.

The Scots have taken just one point – and failed to score – in their first two Nations League matches under the recently-appointed head coach after a 0-0 draw in Slovenia was followed by a 3-0 defeat at home to Switzerland on Tuesday.

Asked if he felt pressure to get off the mark in Skopje, Pocognoli said on Friday night: “Pressure? No, because the challenge is longer than this camp.

Sebastien Pocognoli and Scotland face North Macedonia on Saturday in Skopje. | Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

“We have to do it piece by piece. For sure, we want to have a first really positive camp on the pitch. In terms of ranking, we want this, but I think it’s important for the players to have a first win so that everything makes sense because the win gives the freedom on the pitch to make decisions and accelerate the process.

“If we had got the three points in Slovenia, which I think we deserved, we talk maybe a little bit differently.

“I hope tomorrow we can just show what we trained the last days in the camp, what we showed for 60 minutes in Slovenia and just try to have the first win.”

Pocognoli indicated that he is unlikely to make wholesale changes to his team on Saturday because he felt the early red card for Jack Hendry deprived him of a proper chance to analyse the XI that started against the Swiss in midweek.

“The game against Switzerland is a dead game,” he said. “We didn’t see a lot, so probably we need to see again some aspects that we expected to see in the previous game.

“There will be some changes, but not many. Maybe it was planned (to make more changes) before the camp because we wanted to have a good game with what we prepared for the two first games and to have a good confirmation.

“If you are logical in terms of what we want to build, and what we want to see, and the game that some players can express themselves, you want to confirm what we prepare.”

Scotland have not scored in their last four matches but Pocognoli felt his side created enough opportunities against Slovenia to suggest the goals will soon flow.

“This is not something I am worried about,” he said. “As long as we create chances, it’s okay. The statistics from two periods, from now and in the past (the last two games of Steve Clarke’s reign), is something that is there, but I don’t really take notice of that.

“The game against Slovenia, the second half, in terms of chances created I think it was one of the biggest from the last years against an opponent from that kind of level.

“So it means that we are in the right direction in terms of the offensive methodology, but of course we want to score.”