Amid all the intrigue and excitement which comes along when a new Scotland manager is unveiled, it’s easy to lose sight of where we’re at as a footballing nation.Sebastien Pocognoli is the youngest manager in the history of the national team. He won an unlikely title at Union Saint-Gilloise in his native Belgium and will have learned a great deal from his time at Monaco.He’s tough, intelligent and has promised to play attacking football with the handbrake off. He’s made a favourable first impression.Ahead of naming his squad for the forthcoming Nations League games against Slovenia, North Macedonia and Switzerland, the 39-year-old is said to be contemplating ‘hundreds of players’ for a call-up. We can safely assume this is just a figure of speech.Say what you like about Steve Clarke – and many have since the World Cup – but Pocognoli’s predecessor didn’t omit a roll call of elite players from his squad for the US.None of the three goalkeepers he took were playing for their clubs. Not one of his central defenders was operating in a top five league. And only one of his five strikers was under the age of 30. SFA chief Ian Maxwell, new Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli and Craig Mulholland Sevilla’s Robbie Ure (left) looks in line for a senior Scotland call-upSent across the Atlantic to face two top ten nations in Morocco and Brazil, an unbalanced squad always needed to roll a double six to pinch an unlikely point or three.Nearly three months on, Pocognoli will seek to put his own stamp on proceedings for the quadruple header.Robbie Ure, now of Sevilla, seems a stick-on for his first senior call-up. Likewise, Colby Donovan after a fine spell for Celtic.After missing out in the summer, Udinese’s Lennon Miller would be expected to return. The smart money would also be on recalls for Kieron Bowie, now on loan at Sassuolo, and Hearts’ James Wilson.But unless Pocognoli has turned up on Hampden’s sixth floor in possession of a magic wand, many of the problems which hampered Clarke will not have gone away.Scotland is still not producing nearly enough international-class footballers. It was an issue before Clarke took charge. Despite the Ayrshireman breaking a cycle of failure by qualifying for major tournaments, it was an issue throughout his seven years.It’s now an issue for Pocognoli and it will be an issue for whoever succeeds him unless there’s a change in attitude and approach across the board.In many respects, the most important upcoming date for the wellbeing of the national team isn’t in Slovenia at the end of next month. It’s in St Andrews on Friday.Hosted by SFA chief executive Ian Maxwell and chief football officer Craig Mulholland, a summit on player development with all 42 SPFL clubs is borne from necessity.’Critically important’, is how it was put to clubs in the invite and that wasn’t over-egging the pudding.Once a nation which produced an over-abundance of players who evolved into first-team regulars and internationals, Scotland managers of the past were spoilt for choice.But the torrent has long been reduced to a trickle. A long hot summer in Boston and Miami was possible because Clarke was able to call upon a core of outstanding players like Andy Robertson, John McGinn and Scott McTominay. The fear is what comes when they can give no more.The responsibility on Mulholland’s shoulders is colossal. The task he faces is complicated and daunting. There’s no quick-fix solution to this. Sebastien Pocognoli takes in Rangers’ Conference League qualifier against JablonecWith Brexit meaning English clubs are increasingly looking north of the border for teenage talents, it’s not hard to see why Scottish clubs might question if academies are worth the bother and the expense.The temptation to simply invest in first-team ready pros from England’s lower leagues or abroad is all too real. Goodness knows, we’ve seen enough examples of it.Starting on the Fife coast next week, the battle for hearts and minds begins and failure is just not an option.There are facts which will not be able to be contested by anyone in the room. The pathway in the 16-21 transition phase has become blocked with Scots under 21 playing fewer first-team minutes than comparable countries such as Denmark, Norway and Croatia.While the recent adoption of the Co-operation System – making loan deals between clubs easier – has already had an impact by doubling the competitive minutes, there’s still a great deal of work to be done.Perhaps, Mulholland’s greatest obstacle will be the self-interest which is endemic in the Scottish game.There’s no doubt that the club representatives will have enjoyed seeing Scotland back on the big stage again and that they do care about the national team. But do they care quite enough to change how they operate?In nations like Croatia, the success of the national team takes precedence over club matters. Everything feeds into it. How many chairmen in Scotland lose sleep over seeing so few native talents in their side on a Saturday?Mulholland needs no one to explain this. ‘I was 20 years at Rangers, so I’m not sitting here preaching to anyone,’ he said. ‘I was then part of that problem; we were all part of it.’In the shadow of Scotland’s oldest seat of learning, he doesn’t intend lecturing anyone on the error of their ways. He hopes to catch more flies with honey than vinegar.He feels the SFA’s trump card is to accentuate the financial benefits to clubs of rearing and playing their own. If owners are prepared to stick by a strategy, it should be mutually beneficial.’What we want to do is create a new thing where we work incredibly closely with the clubs,’ he said.’One of the things we’ll do now is the national youth team coaches will get four clubs each and go into the clubs once a fortnight. And they’ll say: How can we help you grow your club?’It might be a technical aspect, it might be player trading strategy, they might be struggling with an injury problem that we can then get an expert to then help them. Colby Donovan is another young player that could break into the Scotland ranks’We need to accept we can’t be sitting bottom of the tables across Europe for giving young players minutes and think that’s okay.’Financial incentives for playing academy graduates do not appear to be off the table. Nor is having a quota of young Scots in match day squads.If the views of former professionals of a certain vintage are sought, the return of the old reserve league – where boys once learned fast by playing against men – is worthy of consideration. Another idea would be permitting B teams to be allowed promotion as far as the Championship.An expanded Premiership would also appear to have much merit. Doesn’t it stand to reason that a 14-team top division would give managers a little more breathing space to give emerging talents a platform? Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson certainly thinks so.If Mulholland’s blueprint for change may feel a little too radical for some in attendance, then that’s because it must be.The development of homegrown players reached crisis point in this country some time ago. For those responsible, continuing down the current road is simply not an option.