The Belgian believes homegrown talent is struggling for minutes at the country's biggest clubs and fears it could hamper the national team's future. He pointed to Celtic's Colby Donovan and Rangers prospect Findlay Curtis as examples of players who need more first-team football.

Pocognoli said: "The Scottish league misses Scottish players in the biggest teams.

"The league is intense and competitive, but I am not looking at this, I am looking at who is performing at the big clubs. I believe that’s the closest level to international level.

"And for that you need to play Champions League, Europa League, Conference League in some stage of the competition."

The Scotland boss reckons the Premiership must do more to develop young talent.

He added: "It’s not easy because if you look at the Scottish competition there’s not many young lads who are getting an opportunity to shine compared to Belgium, France, Germany.

"I try to take all the opportunities I have to support this and hopefully we can see the benefits in future."

Pocognoli also insists he won't rely on the same core group of players, signalling a different approach from predecessor Steve Clarke.

He explained: "My job is not only to win the next game, it’s also to prepare for what’s coming next season. In one year, a lot can change.

"If you just stick to one philosophy and one squad of 15 players that you are just loyal to for everything in any case, you can be surprised for the Euros qualification or the Euros as well."

And he hopes Donovan and Curtis can lead the way for Scotland's next generation.

He said: "Colby Donovan is a good example, he played some good games for Celtic, and I tried to help to accelerate his progress, then he signed a new contract and plays week after week.

"For Findlay Curtis it’s the same, he’s not playing a lot at Rangers, but I believe in his quality.

"We need to support those types of players because we need them, but hopefully it can help his pathway at Rangers to get some minutes."