Pocognoli on Bates, North Macedonia & Hampden wish

Sebastien PocognoliSNS
Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

Sebastien Pocognoli has been speaking to the media at Hampden before Scotland's last home Nations League game against North Macedonia on Friday.

Here are the key lines:

  • Pocognoli confirmed everyone is available. Midfielder Ryan Christie carried a knock from the weekend with Bournemouth but is now "fully fit".

  • While acknowledging Scotland's dominance in last month's 2-0 win in North Macedonia, Pocognoli expects the visitors to show "more continuity" from their "unlucky" defeat by Switzerland.

  • The head coach wants the "taste" of a first Hampden win as he and his squad look to make the national stadium a "difficult place to come".

  • Amedspor's David Bates - back in a Scotland squad for the first time in seven years - is "not here for nothing" as Pocognoli highlights his "experience".

  • The loss of fellow centre-backs Luis Binks and Stephen Welsh is "not nice" but allows Pocognoli and his staff to look at the "human aspect" of other players.