Ireland's new attack coach Mike Catt admits it will take up to a year before he is fully up to speed about the intricacies of the squad he has been tasked with working with.
The 2020 Guinness Six Nations is his first as part of Andy Farrell's new-look Irish setup, having previously worked with Italy and England at international level.
He spent valuable time with the squad during the recent week-long Portugal training camp in the build-up to the Six Nations and he told RTÉ Sport it was an important first step for the coaching team to instill their principles.
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"It's making sure that Andy gets his message across on what he believes on how the game needs to be played and what you need to bring to the party for you to get selected," he said.
"I think we did that very well. From my point-of-view, it was all about building relationships with players, getting to know the players, getting to know what they're about and how they tick.
"That's going to be an ongoing thing for the next year before I genuinely understand what they're all about.
"But ultimately, like any pre-season, you're buzzing on the back of every season, so it's down to the result on Saturday."
He added that Farrell has "created a be-yourself environment" behind-the-scenes "which is a great environment to work in".
Scotland are up first for Ireland and while they exited the 2019 Rugby World Cup from the pool stage after crucial losses to the Irish and hosts Japan, Catt believes they will be itching to set the record straight on Saturday.
"They didn't have a great World Cup campaign," he said.
"There have been a few things that have happened off-the-field which doesn't help.
"They're a wounded animal and I've played Scotland when they've been wounded a few times before and they've come back and bounced back and they're very, very good.
"Nobody's really giving them much of a chance on the back of the World Cup and what's gone on but we have utmost respect for them.
"We know what they're capable of doing. But again, this week and the past two weeks have been purely about what we're going to do.
"It's vital that we show the public and fans that this is a proper Ireland side."
Follow Ireland v Scotland (kick-off 4.45pm) on Saturday via our live blog on RTE.ie/Sport and the News Now app or listen live on RTÉ Radio 1's Saturday Sport. Highlights on Against the Head, Monday at 8pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
