The rise of Robertson is an inspiration to us all

THE story of Andy Robertson’s Queen’s Park past has become as tired as a Bill Shankly one-liner. Mention it on social media and you can almost see the eyes roll. None of which makes it less inspiring. Or more relevant to the troubled times we now live in. The coronavirus crisis has forced Scotland’s clubs to examine their cost base. And, when cash is tight, the first cuts are usually applied to the youth academy. Hibs owner Ron Gordon warned of ‘substantial and unsustainable strain’ on the club’s finances after players and staff were asked to take wage cuts on top of deferrals. Shamefully, that hasn’t stopped the Easter Road side trying to sign former St Johnstone winger Drey Wright. But it will lead to cuts to the youth system and Hibs won’t be alone in that. Clubs awarded elite status by Club Academy Scotland have all asked the SFA to lower the qualifying criteria to help them slash costs. What this means is a narrower window of opportunity for young players. Teenagers who dreamed of a career in professional football will now ask themselves if they would be better going to college or working in Starbucks. Robertson knows how that feels. A bright kid, the Glaswegian could have taken rejection by boyhood idols Celtic as the cue to pack up his boots and spend his Saturday afternoons sinking pints in the student union instead. But the choice he made was football. And through a combination of intelligence, determination and outstanding talent, he now has an English title to add to his Champions League medal. No one doubts that Robertson is the exception rather than the rule. Few of the kids who fall victim to the Covid-19 cash crisis will achieve a fraction of what he’s done. Yet it’s not so long since the prospect of another Scot walking in the footsteps of Dalglish, Souness and Hansen seemed as likely as a guy from Dunblane winning Wimbledon. When dark clouds gathered, Andy Robertson didn’t just embrace the challenge. He took a hammer and he smashed it to bits.