Sebastien Pocognoli and the encouraging Scotland stats after worrying reminder of Celtic carnage

A point away from home in Nations League B is not to be sniffed at and while the failure to score was an undoubted frustration, the number of chances created in the second half was encouraging.

Post-match vibes were mostly positive, which was in stark contrast to the mood across the country at half-time after an opening 45 that fell into the 'tough watch' category - and not just because of technical issues with the BBC Scotland coverage that prompted an apology from the broadcaster due to audio and pictures being a few seconds out of sync.

Alarm bells were ringing as players struggled to get to grips with the new 3-4-1-2 system favoured by Pocognoli. Defensively, Scotland were being exposed while, in possession, they looked lost.

Against better opposition - dare I say a Switzerland side who visit Hampden Park for Pocognoli's home bow on Tuesday - Scotland would have almost certainly been punished for such a haphazard first half.

It was worryingly reminiscent of watching Celtic under Wilfried Nancy, who imposed a new system too quickly and then refused to alter his approach to suit the players at his disposal as carnage ensued.

But while Nancy was unable to come up with a solution to his Celtic woes across his eight-game tenure, it was pleasing to note that Pocognoli appeared to address Scotland's issues at half-time with small tweaks.

Was it just down to teething problems? The reaction after the break may suggest so as Scotland suddenly clicked into gear and produced one of their most dominant halves of football in recent times, albeit with nothing to show for it.

One of the main criticisms of Steve Clarke was that his pragmatic approach often made his Scotland side appear impotent in attack and unentertaining. The goals had completely dried up for Lyndon Dykes and Che Adams, but so too had the chances.

This was particularly the case at major tournaments. A deflected John McGinn strike against Haiti was all Scotland could muster at this summer's World Cup. It was a familiar tale at Euro 2024 when only 17 goal attempts were made across three matches - the lowest in the tournament by some distance - with only one goal scored via another deflection.

Statistics are not the be-all-and-end-all but they can paint a picture and the fact that Scotland had 17 goal attempts and 64.7 per cent of possesion at the Stadion Stožice is worth noting.

Scotland's xG - that is expected goals - was 1.90 compared to Slovenia's 0.44. Pocognoli's side had 28 touches in the opposition box, delivered 31 crosses, and completed 133 successful passes in the final third. What's more, it was good to watch.

How the Scotland players rated out of 10 against Slovenia

Those figures read favourably when compared with what Scotland often produced under Clarke, even when winning. Scotland had eight less shots, seven less touches in the opposition box and 85 less successful passes in the final third in their 1-0 win over Haiti in Boston in June. The Tartan Army welcomed a first World Cup win in 36 years but took little enjoyment from the performance.

Every game is different of course, and Scotland had their good days under Clarke when everything clicked in attack, but something felt different about the way the team poured forward with purpose while Saturday's game was still 0-0.

There is only one stat will truly matter for Pocognoli and that is win percentage.

Clarke won 44.4 per cent of his games in the Scotland dugout, which rises even higher to 48.44 per cent when you factor in competitive games only. Those are strong figures for any manager of a non-elite nation. It would be higher still were it not for his poor record at major finals, winning only one of nine matches, but at least he took Scotland back there after a 22-year absence.

Whether Pocognoli's style can deliver the results required to take Scotland to the next level remains to be seen but his team certainly had enough chances to afford him a winning start in Ljubljana. Had Oli McBurnie elected to shoot rather than attempting to take the ball around Jan Oblak, or had Kieron Bowie not fluffed his lines with just the Atletico Madrid goalkeeper to beat, or if Robbie Ure's effort hit the post and gone in rather than away from goal, then the 39-year-old may already be basking in the glory of a deserved first victory. All three strikers showed up well, but Pocognoli will hope that at least one of them can emerge as a reliable chance taker at international level.

Scotland will now face a tougher opponent, albeit on home soil, when Switzerland come to Glasgow on Tuesday. The visitors may have had a disrupted build-up with the withdrawal of captain Granit Xhaka and striker Breel Embolo from their squad due to an investigation into falsified Covid documents during the pandemic, but they made light work of North Macedonia in Skopje on Saturday night with a 3-0 win that puts them top of Nations League Group B1.

It's one thing taking the game to a team sitting 56th in the Fifa rankings, 14 places below Scotland, but quite another going toe-to-toe with the World Cup quarter-finalists who are currently 14th in the world.

A clean sheet against Slovenia was a welcome bonus but there were let-offs in the first half. Much will depend on how the defensive side of the manager’s system copes with a step up in class.

Billy Gilmour will also be key to Scotland's hopes. A gifted footballer who was sorely missed at the World Cup was a clear man of the match in Pocognoli's maiden outing.

"I really like him," was his verdict of the Napoli midfielder afterwards. A sentiment shared by the Tartan Army who will hope to see Gilmour gain more starts than he did under predecessor Clarke.