Sebastien Pocognoli Posed to be New Scotland Manager

Scotland to appoint Sebastien Pocognoli as Head Coach

The Scottish Football Association's search to appoint a new head coach looks set to be over after it has been reported that former Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco boss, Sebastien Pocognoli, is to be named as Steve Clarke's successor.

The search for a new head coach began after Clarke's resignation after Scotland's World Cup elimination on the 27th of June, days after their 3-0 defeat to Brazil in the Group Stages. With no obvious successor in mind Craig Mullholland, the SFA's new Chief Football Officer who has led the search, has interview no less than ten candidates for the job including former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

On Saturday afternoon, news broke that Pocognoli had been named the SFA's preferred candidate for the job and that his appointment should be announced on Monday.

🗞️ 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 🗞️

Scotland's search for a new head coach is set to end!

Sebastien Pocognoli is set to be announced as Scotland manager next week and could be appointed as early as Monday and will be in charge of September and October's UEFA Nations League matches.

[📰:… pic.twitter.com/5Lj0B1Qo8K

— Football Park Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@FP_Scotland) August 15, 2026

A former left-back, Pocognoli was capped by Belgium 13 times and played in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and club experiences with AZ Alkmaar, winning the 2008/09 Eredivisie, and also played for the likes of Standard Liege, West Bromwich Albion and Union Saint-Gilloise.

He announced his retirement in 2021 and was hired by Union Saint-Gilloise to managed their Under 21 team and then had experiences working with Genk's Under 18s and Belgium's Under 18s. In 2024, he was named the surprise successor to Alexander Blessin as Union Saint-Gilloise head coach and it was to be a success as, after finish third in the regular Belgian Pro League season, USG went unbeaten in the Championship playoffs and secured a first top flight title for the club since 1935 on the final day of the season and was named as the Belgian Coach of the Year.

36y347d - In his first-ever competitive game as manager of a professional team, @UnionStGilloise's Sébastien Pocognoli became the youngest manager to ever win the Belgian Super Cup (36 years and 347 days). Dream. pic.twitter.com/uh4dJt6b2i

— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) July 20, 2024

With the Belgian Pro League title secured entry to the Champions League was secured and Pocognoli guided the club to a first ever win in the top European competition after defeating PSV Eindhoven 3-1 in the Netherlands. But his time in Belgium would draw to a close after he departed the club in October to be named manager of Ligue 1 giants Monaco. However his time with Les Rouge et Blanc was short-lived after he was sacked in June.

The Scottish FA have interviewed multiple candidates using data to identify a coaching style which they believe meet the requirements outlined as key to a successful Scotland National Team. This and Pocognoli's CV, tactical work and track record of working with young players have seen the Belgian become the preferred candidate and his appointment on Monday will lead into his first Scotland squad in September and October for the games in the UEFA Nations League.

Pocognoli will more than likely keep to the same principles on the pitch to that he set for his players at Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco. The French club described Pocognoli's style on the day of his appointment as "advocates a modern and bold style of football. Prefers a 3-4-1-2 system but does not hesitate to adapt his game plan to suit his players. His style is demanding, based on grit, positive aggression and forward play."

Steve Clarke's assistant manager Steven Naismith has already said that he will remain as part of the National Team setup but it remains to be seen if he will be one of Pocognoli's assistants or if he will be either the new Under 21s or Under 17s boss after the recent departures of Scot Gemmill and Brian McLaughlin. It is understood that one of Pocognoli's assistants, former Everton winger, Kevin Mirallas will join as an assistant coach. Artur Kopyt is another Pocognoli assistant but it is currently unknown to whether he will be joining the new manager's set-up.