THERE ARE GREATNESS
Robertson says Klopp’s Reds are ready to battle for titles
ANDY ROBERTSON is convinced Liverpool finally have the squad to land their first league title for nearly 30 years.
Kop boss Jurgen Klopp has embarked on a £175million summer spending spree to turn Liverpool into genuine title contenders.
Brazil keeper Alisson (right) arrived for £66m, along with £44m compatriot Fabinho, while the Reds spent £52m on Naby Keita and £13m on Xherdan Shaqiri.
Add the £75m spent on Virgil van Dijk in January and Klopp has overseen a whopping £250m spend in 2018 in a bid to finally end Liverpool’s agonisingly long title wait, which stretches back to 1990.
Defender Robertson, one of the stars of Liverpool’s march to last season’s Champions League Final, reckons they now have a squad to compete with the very best for the biggest titles.
“Last season, City just blew everyone away really,” the Scot said.
“Even if you see Manchester United’s points total, usually that’s not too far away from winning it.
“But last season it was miles away because of the way City had done it.
“The first part of the season was crucial and they were too far away from us from quite early on.
“But hopefully the gaffer has identified players who he thinks can come in and make a difference. There’s no doubting their quality.
“It’s always good to get to know the new guys.
“There’s a bit of a language barrier with Naby and Fab but they’ve settled in really well.
“Obviously Shaqiri and Alisson will come in later but I’m sure it’ll be the exact same with them.
“We look forward to playing with them, it gives certain positions added competition but that’s what we need.
“Last season we were doing well with injuries then it all sort of hit us at once.
“We struggled near the back end of last season with that.
“This year, we’ve got a stronger squad and the competition is there.
“If there’s competition in training then the training is intense, and then you have the pressure of a weekend that if you don’t put in good performances then your place is maybe up for grabs.”
Robertson, signed from Hull for £8m last summer, became Liverpool’s first-choice left-back last season after an injury to Alberto Moreno in December.
The Scotland international, 24, kept his place for the rest of the season, ending in Liverpool’s tough-to-take 3-1 Champions League Final defeat to Real Madrid. Robertson admitted it took a while for him to get over the defeat in Kiev.
“I didn’t speak to anyone for a while, to be honest,” he said.
“You put so much into the whole day, so much adrenaline, and then you have a massive comedown afterwards.
“That hit me. I had to get through it.
“I went out with my dad and bought a barbecue because everyone was coming round.
“The day after the Champions League Final I’m in Homebase in Formby, buying a barbecue. It just got me out the house.
“I watched the final back on my own. It was a tough watch.
“I watched the first half-an-hour and I was thinking, ‘We’ve got them here’, but obviously things started going wrong after that.
“The second goal took the wind out of our sails and we didn’t know how to bounce back from it.”
Yet Robertson says the new arrivals mean Klopp’s men will do battle for the title with a clean slate. He said: “Coming back for pre-season it’s a fresh start for everyone, players and staff.
“We can use the experience of what we did last season this time around, not just in the Champions League but in the FA Cup and the League Cup too. “Hopefully we can use that, hit the ground running and keep the confidence from the back end of last season.”