Scotland defender Stephen Welsh praises new boss for ‘top-quality coaching’ in Slovenia game
Scotland defender Stephen Welsh believes Sebastien Pocognoli showed his credentials as a top-class coach and tactician with how he changed the game against Slovenia.
Scotland were well off the pace in a disjointed first half at the Stadion Stozice in Ljubljana yesterday, with the Slovenians twice going close to opening the scoring.
But the second half was one of total domination from the Scots as they created a bucketload of clear-cut chances and controlled the tempo of the match.
Although their profligacy ultimately saw them leave with only a point, Welsh insists the new head coach deserves a lot of credit for the in-game changes he made.
Most notably, Pocognoli tweaked Billy Gilmour’s position to get him on the ball more often and instructed his players to press more aggressively higher up the pitch.
‘He wasn’t angry or shouting or anything,’ said Welsh when asked about the manager’s message at half-time. ‘He was very calm and composed in the message that he gave us.
Defender Stephen Welsh was impressed with the new Scotland manager’s half-time changes
‘He showed us some details on the video and told us what we needed to change. Like I say, full credit to him – because it worked.
‘He told us we are good players and that we can figure it out ourselves on the pitch.
‘With the tweaks he made, I think that shows real top-quality coaching to be honest. We dominated the second half.
‘He basically just said we needed to be sharper, we needed to be better. He told us we’re top players playing at a good level – so just go and show it.
‘Full credit to him. He changed it at half-time, changed the shape a little bit, which gave us more control in the game.
‘I thought we were really good. The chances we created in the second half were what we had been working towards over the week.
‘So there are a lot of positives to take from the game, so many things to work on, and it’s good to have another game where we can go again on Tuesday.
‘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.
Scotland boss Sebastien Pocognoli made a big difference by tweaking the team’s shape
‘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.’
Welsh recovered from a nervy start and looked more and more impressive as the match wore on playing on the left side of Scotland’s back three.
Marking his debut with a clean sheet, the Swansea City defender admitted it was a proud moment on a personal level.
He also believes the dominant nature of the second-half performance should excite fans about what this team can do moving forward.
‘Yeah, of course, keeping a clean sheet on my debut is something I’m proud of. As a back five, and Gunny 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.
‘Keeping a clean sheet away from home in Europe isn’t easy to do, so yeah, we’re delighted with that and it’s definitely something to build on.
Midfielder Billy Gilmour saw much more of the ball during a dominant second-half display
‘Absolutely, I hope the fans are excited by the second half, because we’ve only had five days. 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.
‘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 well. As you’ve seen, when Doaky came on, probably something a little bit different to what we had before.
‘So, yeah, 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.’
