Andy can get unfairly criticised when comparing how he plays for Liverpool to how he plays for Scotland. But it’s two different teams, two different ways of playing. He never lets his country down and when he is playing at his best, Andy is different clas
Scotland boss Clarke insists Robertson has grown
When he plays for Liverpool, he looks every inch the best left-back in Europe.
With Virgil van Dijk behind him, Fabinho inside, Sadio Mane up ahead and Mo Salah available for a switch of play, it almost looks effortless for Andy Robertson at Anfield.
But with all due respect to his Scotland team-mates, he doesn’t have the same level of quality next to him when he’s with the national team.
Scotland manager Steve Clarke admits that himself and, at times, Robertson hasn’t replicated his performances in a red shirt while wearing dark blue.
That has occasionally led to unfair criticism of the skipper from Scotland supporters, which irks the manager.
Because behind the scenes, Robertson is a leader in every sense of the word and absolutely vital to what Clarke is trying to achieve.
Even outside of international breaks, the pair are in regular dialogue as they assess every detail of what they can improve on and off the pitch.
The 27-year- old left- back will be pivotal again this week, with a World Cup play- off plays up for grabs if the Scots can beat Moldova on Friday night.
It’s a golden opportunity for Clarke’s side to follow up qualification for Euro 2020 with another tangible achievement that could lead to the World Cup finals in Qatar next winter.
Of course, the trip to Chisinau is also a potential banana skin, similar to Georgia in 2007 when Alex McLeish’s squad squandered a crack at the European Championships by losing 2-0.
Robertson was only a 13-year-old kid back then.
But even now, as captain, he has spoken to Clarke about avoiding a repeat of that night in Tbilisi.
For his club, he was the Liverpool player clearly seen on TV urging his big-name team-mates to be ruthless against Manchester United a fortnight ago after going 5- 0 up at Old Trafford.
And it’s that type of leadership that Clarke says makes him so crucial to the country.
The international coach said: “Andy’s very important for me. I always try to catch up with him between Scotland camps for a debrief on the one before and a look ahead to the next.
“We normally have that chat and he’s grown in the role as captain. When he first got the armband it probably took him a little bit of time to adjust to it.
“He came here with the pressure of being Andy Robertson, playing at Liverpool and everyone looking at that.
“But whenever he’s come away with us I’ve always been happy with his performances.
“Sometimes he gets unfairly criticised because we’re comparing how he plays for Liverpool to how he plays for Scotland.
“But it’s two different teams, two different ways of playing.
“He’s never let his country down when I’ve been here. And when Andy’s playing at his best, he’s different class.”
One of the dilemmas for Clarke when he took the job was fitting Robertson and Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney into the same side. Managers before him had failed to utilise both to their full potential.
But in a 3-5-2 system, with Robertson ahead of Tierney on our left side, the manager appears to have solved the dilemma.
And he’s adamant that , a f ter spending weeks together at the Euros in the summer as well as extended international breaks this season, the Premier League duo are improving as a pair for Scotland.
Clarke said: “Andy’s playing at left wing- back which is slightly out of position and Kieran at left centre-back which is also slightly out of position for him. But both of them approach those roles with great professionalism.
“You see that the more they’ve played together, the better the dynamic has been on our left.
“They have a little switch when Kieran goes forward as an overlapping centrehalf and Andy drops into centre-back.
“So we’ve found a reasonable solution with both players slightly out of position but still giving everything and playing well for their country.
“It’s been a good compromise. And it just happens between them.
“Good players know how to play. They’re not naive enough to think they can both just bomb forward at the same time.
“You always need to have cover. If Kieran goes, Andy will sit in.
“If Andy’s already gone, Kieran won’t go on a crazy overlap. Well, maybe he will once or twice! But not very often.
“And you also have intel ligent midfielders on that side.
“Normally I’ve got Callum McGregor on the left and he’s such an intelligent footballer.
“He knows that if there’s an overload, he can slide across and cover the position.
“The more we play together, the better we get at it. I said during the Euros that the more time we spent together over the summer, the better we’d be in the autumn matches.
“By and large, I haven’t been too far away from that assumption.”
Clarke has pretty much been spot on in his assessment of how Scotland’s group would pan out even after two draws to kick off the campaign.
It now boils down to a cup- f inal situation against the Moldovans on Friday night that would seal a World Cup play-off place.
Rather than fear the unknown, Clarke is embracing the chance to make more