Scotland head coach Sebastien Pocognoli admits to feeling a “positive nervousness” before his first game in charge of the country, a Nations League tie against Slovenia in Ljubljana on Saturday.

The Belgian was appointed in August, replacing Steve Clarke, whose seven-year tenure ended after Scotland’s exit at the group stages of the World Cup.

Pocognoli starts with four Nations League matches across 11 days, with the trip to Slovenia followed by Switzerland at Hampden, a fixture in North Macedonia, then a return meeting with the Slovenes in Glasgow.

“If we talk about nerves, yes, but it’s a positive nervousness,” he told BBC Sport Scotland. “We have a job with responsibility. It’s excitement and I’m just passionate about being on the touchline.”

Scotland are currently at a warm weather camp in La Manga, Spain with a much-changed squad.

Pocognoli has picked a 19-year-old in James Wilson, four 20-year-olds – Findlay Curtis, Ben Gannon-Doak, Lennon Miller and Colby Donovan – and another three aged 22 – Kristi Montgomery, Luke Graham and Robbie Ure.

With Blackburn’s Montgomery replacing the injured Kenny McLean, there are now eight uncapped players in the squad.

“It’s a lot of new faces, so it’s a challenge to find the right balance, to keep the cohesion in the team,” Pocognoli said.

The manager says he knows his team and his formation for the Slovenia game but is not wedded to any particular system, although playing three at the back has been a staple of his coaching to this point.

“I always think the players select themselves,” he added. “We have four games, so we need to plan. We need to have a periodisation [managing training loads, games and recovery] about the tactical aspect and the physical aspect.

“This team can be flexible. We’re ready for the four games in terms of what kind of approach we want to give.”

Pocognoli revealed he has had a conversation with his predecessor, Clarke – “a nice meeting on the phone,” as he put it.

“He was very kind, very… humble. That was very helpful for me. It just was to let me know that he’s behind the team. He was very happy [in his time in the job] but he also felt that it was the right time [to leave]. He wished me all the best.

“I will try to be as successful as the previous staff because we want to play in a big tournament. We want to create this moment for the country.”

Asked if his brand of football will involve more risk and adventure than Clarke’s, he said: “We have to find the right balance because if you play fantastic football and you don’t qualify you get some criticism.”

Pocognoli’s style is all about aggressive pressing and fast tempo. He says that it might take a while for cohesion to be achieved but there are certain things that he wants to see straight away against Slovenia.

“For me, it’s about the personality of the players,” he added. “I like a unit team who are just fighting for each other.

“It’s a basic principle – attack together and squeeze the pitch. When we need to defend, it’s just to defend like brothers. When we lose the ball, it’s try to regain the ball as quickly as possible.

“From that, there are a lot of other principles, but that’s the base. If you cannot get this, you will never have good principles on the pitch.”

Given the condensed nature of the games, there is going to be a fair degree of rotation from Slovenia away, to Switzerland at home, to North Macedonia away and Slovenia at home.

“So good so far,” Pocognoli said about what he has seen in La Manga. “But we need to get the response through the games. It’s up to them to perform well, but it’s up to me to make them perform well.”