IT IS seven defeats out of seven RBS Six Nations Championship matches – nine out of nine if you count the two before he joined – but Vern Cotter, the Scotland head coach was in a defiant mood as he unveiled an almost unchanged starting XV to try to break his tournament duck in Rome.

"The win is going to come, this team will win a game," he said. "The focus is on this game and being totally concentrated and fully committed during those 80 minutes and not worry about anything else. There is positive pressure in this game. We have done things better than the previous week and we are looking at improving again."

The only change to the starting side is the return of Tim Visser, who missed the opening games with a hamstring injury – the third change at wing in as many games with Sean Maitland starting the first but then also picking up a hamstring problem, which meant a recall for Sean Lamont against Wales as they waited for Visser to prove his fitness.

The big reshuffle is on the bench, with the previous unit's failures to freshen things up in the second half and injuries meaning that six of the eight are have been swapped from the last game with only Stuart McInally at hooker, Tim Swinson at lock and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne at scrum half keeping their spots.

The pressure is starting to tell on Cotter, who is widely seen as having helped improve performanes but has not yet found the secret to translating that into results. He inherited a team with a dismal record – one win since 2013 – but when it comes to the Six Nations the winning formula has eluded him.

He is remaining resolutely upbeat, however, and is refusing to see this as the best, or even only, chance to break that sequence of woe: "We have another two games in the competition, the Six Nations doesn't finish after these 80 minutes," he maintained.

"I look at it as a challenge, as every game is. I chose to be here and I'm thoroughly enjoying the challenge. We'll just get down to it and get through the 80 minutes.

"We expect it to be ferocious. They [Italy] are big physical players and they should have beaten France. I thought they had England in all sorts of trouble for a while. We just have to keep calm, in control, play the game out. It is not going to happen miraculously. We're going to have to work hard for it."

In reality, he does not have as many options as he would have hoped in the starting side, but has been able to shake the bench up to try to get more out of the side in the final quarters of games, with the prop replacements a particular focus against Italy who base their game around the set piece.

"We always had those first two games in mind; and the we'd look at what we'd do in the third game. We feel Moray Low [drafted in as replacement tighthead] has been playing well for Exeter. His scrummaging has improved. He's got experience at tighthead. He's put his hand up and got the nod.

"Rory Sutherland [the replacement loosehead] has been with us, he was involved with the last game in the World Cup and impressed with his work rate and his attitude while Gordie [Gordon Reid, the axed player] needs to get some game time under his belt.

"The whole team is aware that's important to keep the foot on the pedal and especially in the second half. The players are working hard to keep cohesion and keep taking the initiative right to the end."

The other changes see Ryan Wilson take the bench back row position vacated by Blair Cowan, who is concussed, Lamont's experience shifted back to the replacements and Peter Horne returning to the squad after recovering from a foot problem.

The issue for Cotter is that though his side did beat Italy twice before the World Cup, the second by a record score, they lost the Six Nations match last season and he believes the Azzurri are better than a year ago.

"They were unlucky to lose against France. They were 18-10 up and had a couple of opportunities to win the game at the end. It's been quoted by people that know the game that they're the most improved team in this year's competition and we certainly assess them in the same manner," he said. "We know they have some old heads and have young guys coming through.

"They have a big, gnarly forward pack that are hard to move around. Very strong upper body and they've a system of play that's very hard to develop what you want to against them. They're a team that will get on top of you if you let them, so we've looked at it carefully and tried to devise a way to get around them."

Scotland: S Hogg (Glasgow Warriors); T Seymour (Glasgow Warriors), M Bennett (Glasgow Warriors), D Taylor (Saracens), T Visser (Harlequins); F Russell (Glasgow Warriors), G Laidlaw (C) (Gloucetser); A Dickinson (Edinburgh), R Ford (Edinburgh), W Nel (Edinburgh), R Gray (Castres), J Gray (Glasgow Warriors), J Barclay (Scarlets), J Hardie ((Edinburgh), D Denton (Bath Rugby). Replacements: S McInally (Edinburgh), R Sutherland (Edinburgh), M Low (Exeter Chiefs), T Swinson (Glasgow Warriors), R Wilson (Glasgow Warriors), S Hidalgo-Clyne (Edinburgh), P Horne (Glasgow Warriors), S Lamont (Glasgow Warriors).