Sebastien Pocognoli goes from flag-planting young wolf to smooth operator with plan to meet Scotland fans

Whether there’s more style than substance, time will tell. There is certainly some fire beneath the calm exterior, which ought to help him win favour with the Tartan Army.

Pocognoli was recruited following a 50-day search for Steve Clarke’s successor. It would therefore be surprising if a historic police caution for ‘incitement to violence’ hadn’t been unearthed. Either SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell or chief football officer Craig Mulholland might well have coughed nervously, before pushing the findings of a disclosure check in front of Pocognoli. ‘About this incident in Charleroi in 2012, Sebastien….’

The SFA recruitment team left no stone unturned. If a candidate for the Scotland manager’s job must have a police caution on their CV, then copying a Scottish football legend is probably the preferable way of getting into trouble with the authorities. If the inspiration was Scotland skipper Graeme Souness, so much the better.

Taking his cue from Souness following a Galatasaray v Fenerbahce derby, Pocognoli ran onto the pitch and planted a club flag into the centre spot after playing for Standard Liege in a win at local rivals Charleroi 14 years ago. This went down about as well as Souness’ antics in Istanbul. Pocognoli was charged and eventually fined £550. He issued a heartfelt apology.

“It was 20 years ago,” he said, not entirely accurately. “I was a young wolf. It was slightly too much. I will not do that again.”

Scotland fans will not mind him rushing onto the centre circle at Wembley and doing something similar in time to come. Whether he gets the chance, who can say? In the meantime, securing a Nations League victory in Slovenia in Scotland’s first post-World Cup game next month will be a satisfactory way to begin winning hearts. He is now mindful of the need keep emotions in check.

“Be careful with passion also,” he said. “Too much passion can be also too much and cross the line. You need to find the balance – to be analytic and to be passionate. If you just react only with passion you make mistakes. I am passionate but I also try to be analytical. I am very energetic on the touchline and in my relationship with the players. I also try to be calm in the right moments.”

In what some might consider a refreshing break from the past, he doesn’t intend to play buttoned-up football. “I like to defend on the front foot, be high up the pitch,” he said. “The risk is to give some space at the back but there is more chance to be dangerous high up the pitch.”

Again, time will tell whether he can bring expansiveness to Scotland’s play while maintaining and indeed exceeding the level of success Clarke’s approach delivered. That was the unspoken subtext of the entire morning. Like pupils getting used to a new teacher at the start of the new school year, it is going to take some time to adjust to hearing someone else talk about Scotland and stop comparing it to the way Clarke used to operate.

Many will contend that a freshening up was required. Even those who still consider themselves acolytes of Clarke might concede a new voice is not the worst thing. The players, too, could well feel the same way in private.

Scotland were bounced into a change by Clarke’s decision to walk away following another group stage World Cup exit. It might prove a pivotal moment in the long term. But some caution must also be applied. It's worth pointing out that this time last year Pocognoli was still in his first job as manager, at Union Saint-Gilloise (USG).

Inside the rise of Sebastien Pocognoli

So who is he? “I was born with a ball at my feet,” he explained by way of introduction. His passion for football is unquenchable. “Maybe it is my Italian heritage,” he reflected. His parents moved to Belgium, where he was born – in Seraing, a city in the Liege province – just over 39 years ago.

As well as being Scotland’s second-ever foreign coach after Berti Vogts, Pocognoli is the second youngest. Ian McColl was a remarkably tender aged 33 when he was appointed in 1960, although these were still the days when managers had limited powers when it came to team selection.

Pocognoli will be his own man. He wants players to express themselves. His short-lived previous post at Monaco, where he was sacked after just six months, underlined to him that football is not just about “metrics”. Such calculations are of course the modern way, and one reason he was so attractive to the SFA. But he won’t rely solely on data.

He craves the roar of the crowd, hence his interest in the Scotland post. Football is about feeling as well as formula. For those concerned by the short-lived experience in the south of France, he points to the sale of many young players this summer, including Aladji Bamba to Newcastle United for £35 million, and notes they were players he helped develop.

“Monaco was totally different,” he explained. “It was a nice experience, but it made me realise that I miss this passion. There are a lot of numbers in modern football. Everyone was to stick with a plan and be really rigid, to make decisions for the players and be really under control. But I think the human aspect can make a difference. Let them make a decision on the pitch and bring some creativity. Don’t just give them a Plan A and a Plan B, give them a Plan C and a Plan D and let them decide for themselves.

"You need to create a relationship," he added. "That is more difficult with a national team because you are not working with them daily like you are at a club. I will try to be clear and create a good environment for the players."

He also intends to make connections with fans. There will be meetings with supporters’ clubs and there is an initial intention to be accessible to the media. As for how he should be addressed – Seb or Sebastien - he left it up to the individual to decide.

It isn’t realistic to expect Pocognoli to move lock, stock and barrel to Scotland. He has a young family. In any case, Clarke made it work from his base in England. “I will be between the two countries,” he said. “If I want to ingrain myself in the culture, I need to be here some days and I will be here. I need to know the people in the building here, I need to know names and faces. I need to meet the clubs.”

His links to Scotland are already fairly extensive. He was in the dugout at Ibrox when USG played Rangers in the Europa League in January last year, losing 2-1. He also played for Belgium Under-21s at Pittodrie.

One of the left-back’s 13 full caps was earned at Hampden, when he came on a second-half substitute in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win in 2013. “It was a great atmosphere but it was not the same moment for Scottish football.” Scotland finished the night bottom of Group A, one reason why only 36,000 attended. There is considerably more expectation now though it is combined with a need to rouse enthusiasm again following an underwhelming World Cup.

Pocognoli is guaranteed goodwill and will have a little longer than 11 minutes, the extent of his cameo at Hampden, to show what he can do.