Sebastien Pocognoli declares Scotland honeymoon period over as he names when Tartan Army will see his real team

Pocognoli says Scotland's honeymoon period is over and demands higher standards ahead of Euro 2028 qualifying, starting with Nations League games against North Macedonia and Switzerland next week.

Sebastien Pocognoli has declared an end to Scotland's honeymoon period under his management, insisting his players must raise their standards ahead of the Euro 2028 qualifying campaign. The Belgian manager's first camp in September yielded mixed results, with four points from three Nations League matches against Switzerland, Slovenia and North Macedonia, but he used that time to assess his squad after replacing Steve Clarke.

With Scott McTominay, Che Adams and Kieran Tierney back in the fold, Pocognoli will oversee Scotland's final two Nations League group games next week—against North Macedonia at Hampden and Switzerland in St Gallen. He acknowledged the team produced good moments and created chances in September but stressed the need to be more clinical in front of goal and tighter defensively. "The first camp was to get to know each other," Pocognoli said. "But the next step is to score more goals and clean up the mistakes we made."

Looking ahead to Euro 2028 qualifying, which begins in March, Pocognoli rejected any notion of relying on the back-door qualification route available to home nations. He wants Scotland to qualify on merit and believes the challenges ahead will help build a winning mentality. The draw for Euro 2028 qualifying takes place in Belfast on December 6.