Scotland boss Sebastien Pocognoli admitted his side were far from perfect in their Nations League win over North Macedonia – but he believes they ARE moving in the right direction under his stewardship.
The victory puts the Scots one point behind second-placed Slovenia in Group B1, ahead of Monday’s trip to runaway leaders Switzerland.
John McGinn notched a second-half double to secure a hard-earned second win of this campaign and Pocognoli’s first in front of the Hampden crowd.
‘We knew before the game that it [a win] will help to build a winning culture,’ he said. ‘And would make the work through the week end with a good feeling.
‘In terms of what we produced on the pitch, I know exactly what we worked on this week. I’m quite satisfied about what I see in some moments of the game, about the work on the ball and off the ball.
‘It was not always perfect but we created a lot of chances that we should score and maybe have a better feeling of the game.
Sebastien Pocognoli got his Hampden win as Scots boss after a 2-1 win over North Macedonia
Stalwarts John McGinn (left) and Andy Robertson applaud the Hampden crowd at full-time
‘Off the ball, I think we were quite aggressive. We recover a number of balls that we managed well in some moments of transition.
‘We created a big chance for Billy [Gilmour] from this also. So that’s a new approach of the game.
‘We created chances and we had a lot of pressure in the side of Macedonia. After the first goal I think we need to learn not to drop the intensity. Because after the first goal for five minutes I really feel like we dropped the intensity and the focus. So, it’s something that we need to fix.’
Asked whether his side need to be more clinical, Pocognoli added: ‘Yes, probably. But I prefer to talk about this with creating a lot of chances. We should score two or three. And probably we should have kept a clean sheet. So that’s really the critical aspect and the demanding aspect.
‘But it’s part of the challenge and we are early in the challenge to try to fix this for the future.’
Talisman McGinn put the Scots ahead on 54 minutes before Elmin Rastoder headed the visitors level against the run of play shortly after, with McGinn then stepping up to convert what turned out to be the winning penalty after a foul on Ben Gannon-Doak with 16 to play.
The Aston Villa midfielder has now taken his tally to 24 for the international team – just six behind legends Kenny Dalglish and Denis Law.
His manager is confident that it is only a matter of time before the 32-year-old is standing alone as his nation’s top scorer, and believes McGinn will have plenty of opportunities to smash the record playing in his team.
John McGinn scored from the penalty spot to clinch an unconvincing victory
He said: ‘I’m more focused on the collective challenge and goals. And I believe if we can build something nice around the collective, then John will one day break the record.
‘We created a lot of chances through these five [Nations League] games together. The individual record is important, but I always focus on the collective package.’
McGinn admitted that chasing the record is in the back of his mind and stressed his relief that he’s back among the goals after a lean spell at international level.
‘It’s been something that’s been in the back of my head, but obviously the results haven’t been the way we’ve wanted,’ said McGinn.
‘The team come first, but whether it’s myself, Scottie (McTominay), Che (Adams), anyone that’s going on the scoresheet at the minute, we’ll take it.
‘It’s been a bit of a dry patch for me over the past year or two on the goal front, so I’m delighted to get back on that trail and hopefully the same again Monday.
‘I feel good. I’ve still got many years to go, but the first priority is getting Scotland back to another major tournament and we’ll take it from there.’
