Scotland aim to deploy key advantage vs Switzerland as excitement builds over Sebastien Pocognoli

Stephen Welsh says Scotland’s second half performance versus Slovenia should get the Tartan Army excited ahead of Tuesday’s clash versus Switzerland.

Welsh was part of a defensive back-three centre of defence alongside Scott McKenna and Jack Hendry in head coach Sebastien Pocognoli’s first game as national team boss, in the Nations League opener in Ljubljana. It was a difficult opening 45 minutes but a strong second half followed with Slovenia captain and goalkeeper Jan Oblak kept busy throughout.

Scotland host Switzerland at Barclays Hampden on Tuesday, then travel to North Macedonia before taking on Slovenia in Glasgow. Pocognoli only had a small period of preparation in La Manga, and Swansea City Welsh believes there was enough shown after the break against Slovenia to encourage fans about the future under the Belgian boss.

Slovenia 0-0 Scotland review

“Absolutely, because we’ve only had five days,” he said. “I think Slovenia have been together for a couple of years now. So the work we’ve put in over the last five days has paid off in the second half because the performance was much better.

“It’s about starting on Tuesday against Switzerland in the right way. We will have a big crowd right behind us as well, which I’m sure will help. I thought the first half was frustrating. I thought we kind of took some time to get control of the game. We changed a few things at half-time and then I thought we were really good second half.

“At this level, it’s about taking your chances. Slovenia have a really top goalie in Oblak. I don’t think many other keepers in Europe would make those kind of saves as often as he did. But we need to look at the positives. We got into some really good areas and created chances, it’s just about taking them. It’s a decent enough start for us, but there’s also a lot for us still to work on and build on.”

The former Celtic and Motherwell defender was happy his side did not concede a goal, adding: “Yeah, of course, keeping a clean sheet on my debut is something I’m proud of. As a back five, and Gunny (Angus Gunn) as well, that’s what you want. I don’t think Slovenia had many chances in the second half. I don’t think Gunny had many shots to save, which is a positive for us.

Sebastien Pocognoli has had his first Scotland match | Getty Images

Stephen Welsh on playing for Scotland

“Keeping a clean sheet away from home in Europe isn’t easy to do, so we’re delighted with that and it’s definitely something to build on.”

Welsh is hoping a big crowd on Tuesday can turn the game in their favour. He said: “Switzerland are a top team. They got to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in the summer and were actually really close to reaching the semi-finals.

“We know it’s going to be a challenge, but we know that we’ve got quality in the changing room as well. We’ve also got quality off the bench. As you’ve seen, when Doaky (Ben Gannon-Doak) came on, probably something a little bit different to what we had before.

“So we know it’s going to be a tough test, but happy it’s at home, so we can use the crowd to our advantage. It’s up to us to put on a good performance.”