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Football Daily | Pocognoli looks the part as Scotland’s new boss but a question remains: can he boogie?
When Berti Vogts was unveiled as Scotland’s first foreign manager, back in 2002, he had a simple instruction. “When we are playing,” he said, “you can call me Berti McVogts!” Scotland fans preferred a slightly courser sobriquet when, six months later, Scotland went 2-0 down to the Faroe Islands before scrambling a 2-2 draw. Vogts left after two-and-a-half ultimately unsuccessful years, and since then Scotland have preferred homegrown managers. But it’s good to try everything twice, except maybe Gigli, and the Scottish FA has appointed one of European football’s most interesting young managers: Sébastien Pocognoli, who was unveiled at a press conference on Monday.It’s 2026, not 2002, and the way to win people over is with a PowerPoint presentation rather than a cheesy pun. So even though Pocognoli’s middle name, Jean, gave him a bit of a portmanteau open goal, he didn’t ask to be called Jockognoli. Pocognoli, 39, is a former Belgium international who played for West Brom and Brighton. He had a glorious start to his senior coaching career in 2024-25 when he led Union Saint-Gilloise to their first Belgian title since 1935. His head was soon hunted by Monaco, who dispensed it in the summer after a disappointing season. Although Monaco finished seventh, their lowest position since 2019-20, Pocognoli’s win percentage of 42 wasn’t a complete affront to the memory of Tim Sherwood.“I’m very proud to be here,” roared Pocognoli. “Scotland is a passionate country and I think also, regarding the strong foundation that Steve Clarke and his staff did, that I can use this heritage to put the next accent in the style of play while also developing players for the future.” Pocognoli looked the part: sharp suit, art-dealer haircut, beard that has been through at least three focus groups to find the optimum length. He looked a bit like a cross between Diego Simeone and Gerard Piqué, which would be a helluva style of play to master.“Since negotiations began, I have been doing a lot of research, asking a lot of questions and looking at areas that we can build on,” continued Pocognoli, who confirmed that Barry Can’t Swim and Limmy would be joining his coaching staff. Craig Mulholland, the SFA’s chief football suit, said Pocognoli “will bring an aggressive, front-foot style of play that will excite supporters”. For all the Scotland fans who wanted to feel their pulse while watching Clarke’s side, the next few years will provide either told-you-so validation or football’s latest reminder that you should be careful what you wish for.“FIRST TIME EVER. Game delayed due to a child who’s scootered their way on to the pitch. Fair play to the Rangers manager for stopping the game and Charlie Elliott taking her back to her parent” – Montrose FC’s live updates on their SPWPL opener against Rangers – a 4-1 win for the Glaswegians – were briefly interrupted by news of a rogue fan with absolutely zero respect for the rules.double quotation markWatching Manchester City under new management for the first time, it’s kind of spooky how much Enzo Maresca channels the ghost of Pep Guardiola on the touchline. Except they are losing” – Chris Jersan.double quotation markDave Hill’s letter [Friday’s Football Daily] made me feel old. My immediate reaction was: ‘Too much money sloshing around at the top; there should be a salary cap.’ Then I realised that I could just about remember the campaign for a minimum wage for footballers. All in the span of one lifetime” – Trevor Townson.double quotation markRe: your mention in Friday’s Football Daily of Graeme Souness being sent off in the first half of his first game as Rangers player-manager v Hibs. This event led to pubs popular with Celtic fans in the east end of Glasgow being inundated with requests for a new drink: ‘I’ll have a Souness please … mine’s a half and then I’m off’” – Danny Sullivan.If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Danny Sullivan. Terms and conditions for our competitions can be viewed here.This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
