Expectations were too high when Belgium were on top of the world rankings... but I know I have to keep raising the bar with Scotland, says Pocognoli

Upon his appointment as Scotland manager, you didn’t have to delve too deeply into Sebastien Pocognoli’s past to appreciate that he was once a footballer of considerable pedigree.

A left-back with clubs including AZ Alkmaar and Standard Liege, he was good enough to win 13 caps for Belgium between 2008 and 2014.

While he clearly wasn’t one of the stars of his country’s golden generation, he was part of it.

Good enough to line up beside Vincent Kompany. A worthy team-mate for Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku.

Pocognoli didn’t make the final squad for the 2014 World Cup but he featured in the qualifiers.

He can, therefore, attest to the crushing expectations that weighed heavily on the shoulders of all concerned at that time.

The Belgians reached the last eight in Brazil and repeated the trick at Euro 2016 as they became the top ranked team in the world. They then made the semi-final in World Cup 2018 and finished third.

It was a run which most small nations could only aspire to. Yet, in Pocognoli’s homeland, the feeling lingers that it should have delivered more.

‘It was high expectation and, for me, over-expectation,’ he said.

‘It is a country of 12 million people and you have to deal with France and Germany next to you and England.

‘There were fantastic players and that Belgium team reached third place in the World Cup. Fantastic.

‘They were first in the FIFA rankings for five or six years. You can’t do more than that. Maybe with some luck you can win a medal. But there was over-expectation and I think that generation reached its best, to be honest.’

We’re talking about expectations because Scotland’s are certainly different now than they were in the 28 years when we watched from afar as nations such as Belgium affected major competitions.

Qualification for back-to-back Euros and this year’s World Cup have reclassified what now constitutes success.

With the psychological barrier having been broken down after a generation in the wilderness, making it to a major finals can’t be seen as adequate anymore. It’s the reason why few tears were shed when Steve Clarke walked away after being unable to take the next step.

As well as his predecessor did to make Scotland relevant again, Pocognoli appreciates that it’s incumbent on him to achieve more.

‘The bar is very high. I know this,’ he said.

‘Steve and his staff made Scotland massively famous on the map across the last two tournaments, so that is the standard.

‘I hope we can reach this and push the limit even higher with good football on the pitch. That’s something important for me.

‘The heritage is massively positive (and we can) use it.

‘I would just push even higher the expectation about what was produced (in the past) to reach another level.’

Watching Pocognoli’s players go through their paces in the heat of La Manga, the World Cup felt like it belonged to a different age.

It’s extraordinary to think that dismal display against Brazil was just over three months ago.

Not only is there a different man at the helm, the squad is hardly recognisable. Fifteen of the 27 players who’re vying for a start against Slovenia weren’t even in Miami.

With the rate of change so great and Pocognoli pledging to go on the front foot, it’s certain exciting.

But exactly how realistic it is for a new manager overseeing a revamped squad to click immediately is a matter of debate.

At the very least in Ljubljana, the team must show they are on the right track.

‘Patience is something that you gain a lot from,’ said the manager.

‘If the players can see a clear vision that’s realistic, then we will go through it and bring exciting football for the fans.

‘There are many ways to go through that process, but we need to be good.

‘We don’t have a lot of games, so we want to combine good results with a good collective performance, as well as individually.’

Pocognoli’s CV shows a title win in Belgium with Union SG and eight months at Monaco which ended in his dismissal.

International football is a different beast entirely, of course. When you are effectively borrowing players from clubs but still require them to perform to their optimum levels, it can be hard to set the right tone.

‘I give them expectations and standards,’ Pocognoli explained.

‘If you don’t follow through standards and give me a good reason to play you...

‘Because I believe that the expectations are part of the process to be successful.

‘Most of the time if you don’t do it, it’s because of ego.

‘And I don’t think we are a country that can accept someone having too much ego.

‘Ego is part of football, but we just have to stay in the lines and do the best for your team-mates and the collective.’

Speak with anyone who’s played with or under Pocognoli in his career and the same answer comes back. He’s a good man, thoroughly likeable, but also tough and not to be messed with.

Asked if this was fair, he smiled: ‘It depends on what you mean about being tough?

‘The tough side of me is on the pitch. When we work, it’s 200 per cent committed and focused.

‘The boys already work like this so it’s easy for me as a coach.

‘But yeah, I hope in future I won’t have to be too tough.

‘The only thing for me that will be disappointing is if we don’t follow what we’ve prepared.

‘Outside the pitch I’m also very sharp on this because we need to be ready for the next training session. I have my eyes on everything.

‘But we have fantastic players with good leaders who manage the discipline well.’

If first impressions are accurate, though, he’s seen nothing to concern himself with.

‘It’s been good,’ he insisted.

‘For me, the training starts from when the players arrive and meet each other in Glasgow.

‘And 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.’

There’s an expectation that he will shape with a 3-4-3 with a high defensive line, a departure from the more cautious Clarke era.

As welcome as they are, making such a transformation across the space of a few days in Spain is a challenge.

‘We have to find the right balance,’ he said. ‘To produce good football, you need some time, but this squad is really talented.

‘Today, we have gone through some ideas, and these quality players, they pick things up very quickly.

‘The worst thing to do is overload them, because sometimes it is just about their quality. You can sometimes just show the way and their individual quality will make the difference.’