New Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli says his connection with the country's passionate football culture played a major role in his decision to take charge of the national team.
The 39-year-old was confirmed as Steve Clarke's successor on Sunday before being formally introduced to the media on Monday.
Clarke brought his seven-year spell in charge to an end earlier this summer after Scotland failed to progress beyond the World Cup group stage. A victory over Haiti was followed by defeats against Morocco and Brazil.
Pocognoli arrives with an impressive coaching pedigree. The former Belgium defender left Monaco at the end of last season, having previously guided Union Saint-Gilloise to their first league title in 90 years during the 2024-25 campaign.
He becomes only the second foreign manager to take charge of the Scotland men's national team, following Germany's Berti Vogts.
Pocognoli believes Clarke has left behind a strong platform and is determined to build on that foundation while introducing his own playing philosophy and developing Scotland's next generation.
"I'm very proud to be here," Pocognoli said during his introduction alongside Scottish Football Association (SFA) chiefs Ian Maxwell and Craig Mulholland.
"It's a very strong challenge, with a project to develop the future of Scottish football. There are the metrics, but the human aspect was also very important. I never go to a challenge where I can't feel the connection.
"Scotland is a passionate country and I think also, regarding the strong foundation that Steve Clarke and his staff laid, that I can use this heritage to put the next accent on the style of play while also developing players for the future.
"That's why I'm here."
SFA chief football officer Craig Mulholland and chief executive Ian Maxwell conducted an extensive search for Clarke's replacement, travelling internationally to speak with potential candidates.
According to Mulholland, Pocognoli stood out both through the SFA's data-driven selection process and during face-to-face discussions.
The Belgian takes over a Scotland side that have qualified for consecutive European Championships as well as a World Cup. However, the SFA believes Pocognoli can help the national team make further progress and establish Scotland as a consistently high-performing football nation.
"Sebastien had a massive passion for us becoming a high-performing nation," Mulholland said. "We know what our ambitions are.
"Before you go on the coach search you have to understand what successful nations do to continually get to where we want to be.
"We did a lot of data and from that, we created a set of metrics that led us to a bunch of coaches. Ian and I went on our travels - so many coaches had a passion for Scotland.
"We looked at metrics around playing style - and Sebastien met all of that - but beyond the data what's important is the person.
"We had to look the person in the eye and know they would add to what we already have."
Pocognoli now faces the challenge of maintaining Scotland's recent qualification success while developing a distinctive style of play capable of taking the national team to the next level.
