Robertson vows to keep on improving amid European run
ANDREW ROBERTSON may now stand on the brink of the Champions League final, but the Liverpool full-back insists he is still some way short of his career peak.
Another stand-out performance against Manchester City in midweek saw the Scotland full-back help Jurgen Klopp’s team reach the last four. Beat Roma and Liverpool will be contesting the final in Kiev in May.
Robertson’s reputation may be growing by the week but as rapid as his rise has been, it has been fuelled by a constant quest for self-improvement.
The story is well documented. Released by Celtic as a kid, through his days as an amateur at Queen’s Park and his break at Dundee United, Robertson was an explosive but raw talent when he moved to Hull City.
Even when he was picked up by Liverpool last summer, the move seemed to scream ‘squad player’.
‘I knew it was always going to be tough when I came here,’ he reflects. ‘I had to find my feet and Alberto Moreno was playing really well.
‘Then, unfortunately, he got injured. I had to wait for my chance but I believed I could prove to everyone I could play at this level.
‘Luckily, I managed to do that. I’ve not really looked back but I need to push on. I don’t think I’m at my peak, I need to keep working hard.
‘I have a few weaknesses I need to work on and if I can do that hopefully I can really give my best to the Liverpool fans and my team-mates.’
Robertson’s humility is all part of the attraction to the Liverpool supporters who have taken to chanting his name from the Kop. He laughs off the suggestion that he is now a bona fide Anfield cult hero but is grateful for the backing from behind the goal. ‘The fans have taken to me, I must say,’ he adds. ‘It’s a great feeling. But our fans are brilliant and they take to every one of our players and cheer them on. ‘It was great to celebrate with them at the end of the game because they follow us everywhere and deserved that night more than anyone. ‘Hopefully we can give them a couple more successful nights and hopefully that gets us to the final.’ Robertson’s earliest memories of the Champions League final was in Glasgow in 2002. The night will forever be remembered for the majestic goal scored by Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane. Robertson can scarcely believe that this fairytale season could end with him facing the Frenchman’s present-day Madrid team in Ukraine. ‘I remember Zidane scoring that unbelievable goal, as a kid that was probably the first one,’ he recalls. ‘When you are young you watch these incredible tournaments and want to play in them. ‘Luckily, all of us have that chance to play in the semi-final of the Champions League and as a kid that is what you dream of.’ Rome now looms large for Liverpool and nothing is being taken for granted, especially against a side that overturned a 4-1 deficit to defeat Barcelona in the quarters. ‘Roma are an unbelievable side and the away goal was crucial for them,’ continued Robertson. ‘They deserve to be in the semi-finals. ‘But Manchester City are one of the best teams in Europe at the moment, too, there is no hiding that. We were deserved winners.’