The new head coach has been given a boost by the performances of his players, who have been putting in impressive displays for their clubs. One area where Pocognoli will be pleased is in goalkeeping, where Angus Gunn has established himself as the first-choice after making the switch from Nottingham Forest to San Jose Earthquakes over the summer. Scott Bain is also performing well at Falkirk, while Jon McCracken has helped Bradford City reach the top of League One since joining from Dundee. The only goalkeeper not playing for his club is Liam Kelly, who remains with Rangers.
The absence of injured forwards Lawrence Shankland and Che Adams has given Pocognoli an opportunity to bring in some fresh blood among the strikers. Oli McBurnie continues to start for Hull City on their return to the Premier League, while Robbie Ure was back in the starting line-up for Sevilla as they lost 3-1 to La Liga leaders Barcelona over the weekend. James Wilson has also cemented a first-team place since returning to Heart of Midlothian from his loan to Tottenham Hotspur.
However, not all players have been able to break into their club teams' starting line-ups. Kieron Bowie and wingers Findlay Curtis and Ben Gannon-Doak had to make do with being substitutes over the weekend for Sassuolo, Rangers, and Bournemouth respectively. The continued lack of minutes for 19-year-old Gannon-Doak is not ideal, given his importance as a provider of pace to Scotland's play.
In midfield, all seven of Pocognoli's central options started this weekend, including Lennon Miller in Udinese's 1-0 home defeat by Cagliari. Billy Gilmour scored only his second senior goal with a fine strike in Napoli's 1-1 draw away to Fiorentina, and was also named man of the match.
