Scottish football: Pocognoli named new Scotland head coach; Old Firm to meet in League Cup

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Sebastien Pocognoli will get to work straight away and we will hear from him tomorrow as he conducts a media conference at Hampden.

We'll have all of that covered.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday...

New manager has 'clear vision' - SFA's Maxwell

Scottish FA chief executive Ian Maxwell says Sebastien Pocognoli was the "standout candidate" when seeking a replacement for Steve Clarke.

He goes on to describe the Belgian as a "very impressive individual, with a real desire to take on the role and a clear vision for how he wants to go about it".

Maxwell adds: "Sebastien inherits a talented squad who just took us to a first World Cup in 28 years, and I’d like to reiterate my thanks to Steve Clarke and his staff for their work and the foundations they’ve put in place.

"I’m excited to see how we build on that ahead of a new Nations League campaign."

'I will do everything I can to give fans a team to be proud of'

"It's an honour to be asked to become the head coach of Scotland," says Sebastien Pocognoli via a statement from the SFA.

"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 Nations League and putting those plans into action on the training pitch when we meet up next month."

'His style can work with Scotland'

Hearts head coach Wouter Vrancken has already backed his fellow Belgian to succeed with Scotland.

"I know him pretty well because I played with him two years as a player," former Sint-Truiden boss Vrancken said.

"He was under-18 coach when I was in Genk as first-team coach, so I know him a bit. I know him just as a good guy.

"I know his style of play because we managed against each other when he was at Union, and he did really well there. And let’s hope that he can work with the national team.

"His style of play can work with Scotland I think. His style of play is also pretty physical, direct, so I think it’s a good match."

High praise for Penrice

FT: Rangers 5-1 St Mirren

Rangers head coach Derek McInnes tells Premier Sports: "We got off to a flyer at the start of the second half, get the third goal, score a couple more.

"We gave up a couple of chances which we weren't too pleased about but there was a good attacking threat from the team. The players deserved that moment today against a St Mirren team who have been doing well.

"James [Penrice] comes here with a freshness. He just goes and plays the game with real enthusiasm but he's also got quality. His quality of defending was good, his decision-making, his energy, he sees what it means to play for the club. The more players we can get like that the better. I'm really glad the club allowed us to bring him in."

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FT: Rangers 5-1 St Mirren

Rangers manager Derek McInnes has a wry smile about that quarter-final draw at home to Celtic.

On his first victory with the Ibrox side, he says: "We scored five and could have scored more, so we have to be pleased about that."

McInnes goes on to praise a "fantastic debut" from James Penrice, saying the on-loan left-back added "freshness, enthusiasm and quality."

He also tells Premier Sports that there could be "two or three" more signings before Thursday's meeting with Jablonec.

We'll have more in detail soon.

'Go to work with a sore head'

FT: Stenhousemuir 1-0 Motherwell

Stenhousemuir manager Marvin Bartley tells BBC Scotland: "It's about the players, it really, I'm delighted for them.

"Before the game, everyone had written us off again. We were playing against a fantastic Motherwell team with a brilliant manager who are going hell for leather in Europe and domestically as well recently.

"But I always knew what my players could do, and I always knew that if we got the game plan spot on, we could disrupt them and we could punish them going the other way, and we did that today.

"It wasn't a smash and grab. I thought the boys were unbelievable on the ball. I thought they were even better without the ball. I'm running out of words to describe what this team are actually giving me.

"They've all got work tomorrow, so just go in with a sore head because these moments don't come along all the time in football. I think one or two work for the chairman so we should give them the time off if he's feeling generous.

"These boys are training twice a week and over 120 minutes they're matching a team who are full-time, a really fit and good footballing team as well."

Rampant Rangers finally click

FT: Rangers 5-1 St Mirren

Jonathan Sutherland

BBC Sport Scotland at Ibrox

That couldn't have gone much better for Derek McInnes.

A Lawrence Shankland goal from open play would probably have been the icing on the cake. You can sense the frustration of the Scotland striker. That goal will surely come sooner rather than later.

Thoughts for Rangers now turn to the crunch Europa Conference League play-off tie with Czech side Jablonec.

What a difference James Penrice made. The Man of the Match on his debut. Not only did he deliver a goal and an assist, but he brought proper balance to this Rangers side.

Will McInnes make further additions before Thursday night's game at Ibrox?

As for St Mirren, they certainly had their moments and there was lots to like. But ultimately a heavy defeat for Craig McLeish and his side as their defence of their League Cup campaign comes to an end.

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