I LEFT CELTIC FOR M&S . . . BUT I NEVER GAVE UP ON MY DREAM
SAYS LIVERPOOL’S FLYING FULL BACK ANDREW ROBERTSON
ANDREW Robertson was standing outside Jurgen Klopp’s office, getting his words in order before knocking on the door.
It was mid- October and Robertson had asked Klopp for an audience. The timing of the meeting was far from ideal — days earlier Liverpool had been skewered by Tottenham at Wembley and the German was still smarting — but there was no turning back. This conversation needed to take place.
Robertson had moved to Anfield from Hull last July but, three months down the line, their £8.5million investment had only played in three of Liverpool’s first 15 games; more worrying was the fact that he had been in the matchday squad on just three further occasions. Something needed to change.
There was no anxiety as he waited for Klopp to answer — the only time he had experienced nerves at Liverpool was when he had to sing Sweet Caroline in front of the squad for his initiation — but Robertson knew the importance of what was coming.
‘I wasn’t ever going in to say, “Why am I not playing?” or “I’m better than him!”,’ says Robertson, taking up the story.
‘It wasn’t as if I was going in to rant and rave. I just said, “What can I do to get closer to this team and in your thoughts for a matchday?” So he told me, honestly. But he opened the door with open arms and explained what I needed to improve. He also said I needed time.
‘He knew it was tough for me. He doesn’t like telling you he’s made the decision that you’re not in his squad. I promise you I felt a lot better coming out than I did going in. I came out and thought, “That’s it! That’s the chat I needed”. I knew then what I had to do. I used it as motivation to get better and put the time in training so, when a chance came, I’d be the most prepared I could be to go and take it.’
The transformation since has been extraordinary. He has come in from the shadows and made himself Liverpool’s first- choice left back and one of the most popular members of the squad. The Kop chant his name almost as much as Mohamed Salah’s — and Robertson set up one of the Egyptian’s goals in a superb display during Liverpool’s 5-0 romp over Watford on Saturday.
So much he does resonates with the fanbase. His willingness to work is impeccable and it produced one of the moments of the season in the 4-3 beating of Manchester City in January when he hurtled 80 yards, pressing John Stones, Nicolas Otamendi and Ederson to win back the ball.
‘I got the momentum up and just kept going and going,’ he says with a telling smile.
‘It’s drilled into us in training — you never stop. I feel in the shape of my life and can push myself to the limits. That was just a hunger to get the ball back. The game’s a wee bit easier when you have the ball, isn’t it?’
There is more to it, though, than just football. We meet at Notre Dame Catholic College, a school not far from Anfield. During a community event, one of the issues he is probed on by pupils is the letter he sent to a young Liverpool fan called Alfie Radford.
Robertson was so overwhelmed by the seven-yearold donating his pocket money to support a local foodbank that he wrote him a letter and sent one of Roberto Firmino’s jerseys because ‘ Nobody wants a left back’s shirt!’ It was a gesture that rang far and wide.
‘When I was writing it, I was just looking to bring a wee bit of fun to it and give him a joke,’ he explains. ‘It was such a lovely gesture Alfie had made. To have awareness of an issue like that? Foodbanks shouldn’t exist because we shouldn’t be letting people get hungry.’
Robertson has a broad outlook on life, his views shaped by the path his career has taken. He grew up in a family of Celtic fans in Glasgow with ambitions of starring at Parkhead but, aged 15, he was told he wasn’t good enough. From there, he went to Queen’s Park, playing just for travel expenses but it was never a hardship. He was resilient, taking a part-time job in Marks & Spencer to get ‘a wee bit of money’, and refused to give up on his dream.
‘I’d have been 17, just turning 18 when I took that job,’ says the now 24-year- old. ‘I was still at school. It was Christmas, they were bringing on temporary staff. I was one of them. I enjoyed it, to be honest with you! When I look back, that’s where I feel it was quite good. I never put pressure on myself. I wasn’t thinking, “That’s football gone”; I was relaxed. People fall out of love with the game when they leave academies. It is incredible, really.
‘But I can cope with things. I’ve never thought to myself, “I’m giving up on this”. There’s no easy way to the top.’
The last six months have been a case in point. Having listened to Klopp and worked to get his trust, an injury to Albert Moreno in December presented the opening Robertson had been craving but still there were bumps ahead.
Gary Neville named him in a group following a 3-3 draw at Arsenal, saying: ‘You can’t have those players in those games (against Barcelona and Real Madrid). They’ve just got to go.’
In Neville’s defence, he corrected himself before Liverpool faced Manchester United this month and said Robertson had done better than he had imagined.
‘Maybe he hadn’t seen me play enough,’ Robertson says. ‘Maybe he just thought it’s a signing from Hull. I don’t know what his thought process was but it’s one man’s opinion. If he thought I wasn’t good enough, no problem. ‘But these are the people I want to try to prove wrong. You want to make your fans and your family proud. But it’s the people who doubt you who motivate you more. I’m quite good at dealing with it. I was confident in my ability that if I could get a run of big games, I would build on it.’
He’s done more than that. Knocking on Klopp’s door has given Robertson the opportunity he has always wanted. It’s not one he intends to let go.
LIVERPOOL have no intention of selling Mohamed Salah this summer and will turn away all enquiries for their star striker.
The Egypt international’s incredible debut season at Anfield has catapulted him into the top bracket of players.
He has been linked with Real Madrid ever since head coach Zinedine Zidane was asked what he thought of Salah at the Club World Cup last December.
Salah signed a four-year contract, worth more than £90,000 per week, when he moved to Liverpool last summer. Real will have no hesitation in offering him dramatically increased terms if they are given any encouragement that there is an opportunity to buy the 25-year-old.
But Liverpool, who lost Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona in January, are adamant Salah is crucial to their planning.
And they say no amount of money will persuade them to sell a player who already has 36 goals this season.