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Sebastien Pocognoli: Scotland appoint former Monaco head coach to replace Steve Clarke on two-year contract Sebastien Pocognoli won the Belgian league with Union Saint-Gilloise last year; Pocognoli was a free agent after leaving Monaco in June; Steve Clarke left the Scotland job after their World Cup group-stage elimination; Pocognoli has signed a two-year deal Sunday 16 August 2026 18:57, UK Scotland have appointed Sebastien Pocognoli as their new head coach. The 39-year-old, who guided Union Saint-Gilloise to the Belgian league title last year, replaces Steve Clarke on a two-year deal. Pocognoli was a free agent after leaving Monaco in June. Capped 13 times by Belgium, the former left-back played for Genk, AZ Alkmaar - where he won the Eredivisie under Louis van Gaal - Standard Liège, Hannover 96, West Brom Albion, Brighton and USG. - Clarke says it was 'time to step away' from Scotland job - Got Sky? Watch now on the Sky Sports app 📱 - Not got Sky? Get instant access with no contract 📺 Pocogonoli does have some limited experience of international football at youth level, where he managed Belgium's U16 and U18 sides. But this is his first international job - and just his third head coach role in senior men's football. Clarke left the Scotland job after guiding the nation to their first World Cup since 1998. But the Tartan Army were sent home at the group stage after one win from three games. 'I will do everything to make fans proud' Pocognoli said: "It's an honour to be asked to become the head coach of the Scotland national team. "When I first heard of the interest, I was immediately excited about the opportunity. Scotland's supporters are famous for their passion - most recently at the World Cup in the USA - and I have experienced it myself as a player for Belgium when we played in 2013. "Along with my coaching staff, I will do everything I can to give them a team to be proud of and build on the success that has been achieved already by my predecessor. "Since negotiations began, I have been doing a lot of research, asking a lot of questions and looking at areas that we can build on. I am hugely excited by the prospect and look forward to working with the players to achieve even more success. "We don't have long until the first camp, so the coming weeks will be spent preparing for the UEFA Nations League and putting those plans into action on the training pitch when we meet up next month." Who is Sebastien Pocognoli? Pocognoli is familiar to British audiences from his spells at West Brom and Brighton. At the Baggies, the left-back made 21 appearances for the then-Premier League club in two years, before dropping down to the Championship to play on loan at Brighton. Before his time in England, he was part of AZ Alkmaar's title-winning team in the Netherlands in 2009, while he also featured for Belgian clubs Genk and Standard Liege. During a second spell at Liege after leaving England, he won the Belgian Cup in 2018, but retired three years later in his early 30s. His final club Union Saint-Gilloise - owned by Brighton owner and Hearts minority stakeholder Tony Bloom - offered him the Under-21s head coach role at the club. After one season, his first club Genk took him on as Under-18s head coach, while he also worked for Belgium's U16 and U18 youth teams. USG then offered him the head coach role in the summer of 2024, where he guided the Belgian side to their first league title in 90 years. Pocognoli was taken to Scotland during his one season at USG, where his team were beaten 2-1 by Rangers in the Europa League. After winning Belgian Coach of the Year in 2025 and managing USG's first-ever matches in the Champions League, Pocognoli took up the Monaco head coach role in October of last year. Despite qualifying for Europe with Monaco, he was replaced as head coach on June 1.