Rebirth of an icon
ANDY: REDS ARE BETTER THAN EVER
ANDY ROBERTSON never had any doubts about Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool 2.0.
The Scottish defender saw seasoned winners like Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Roberto Firmino and Fabinho leave Anfield in the summer as the manager committed himself fully to a rebuild that is delivering new Kop idols.
Signings Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Waturu Endo and Ryan Gravenberch hit the ground running.
And a gang of academy graduates led by Curtis Jones, Conor Bradley and Jarrell Quansah have brought a youthful fearlessness to Liverpool’s dressing room.
Klopp has made sure the future is in safe hands – but for Robertson that future starts against Chelsea at Wembley today in the Carabao Cup Final.
“I don’t think anyone here is surprised,” said Robertson, as he contemplated how Liverpool could be going into the final three months of the season chasing a quadruple.
“We had belief in the dressing room, when we looked at the new signings and the players we already had, that we had the quality.
“We just needed to piece it all together – and I think we did that pretty quickly at the start of the season. We have been on a roll since then.
“Yes, we lost a lot of players in the summer, but the new lads have come in and done so well – and injuries have meant we have also had to go with the excitement of the young lads.
“I looked at the lads who came on against Luton in midweek, how excited they looked, and it reminded me of when I came on for my debut. You have absolutely no fear and are just happy to be there. But you can use that to your advantage – and that’s exactly what we are going to have to do.
“When you get to February and you’re still in every competition then the season has been a success up to this point. Now we have to keep going.”
Liverpool’s quest for the Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League is made even more remarkable by Chelsea’s inconsistent season following the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino as manager and a £1billion recruitment drive on players.
But the presence of experienced operators like Robertson, Mo Salah, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Alisson means Klopp still has a winning edge to his team.
Robertson said: “I think we were slightly different to Chelsea. They’ve had a lot of turnover in players in the last 12 months or so.
“We had a transition in the summer, when we lost a few players and replaced them with four or five, but the change here hasn’t been as big as it has been at