The Big Interview: Andy Robertson for Showmax Premier League

Andy Robertson, the Scottish left-back who has become an integral part of Liverpool’s success, has shared insights into his remarkable journey from humble beginnings to international stardom. Starting his footballing career at Celtic, Robertson’s talent quickly caught the eye of scouts, eventually leading to a move to Liverpool in 2017.

Under the guidance of Jürgen Klopp, Robertson’s defensive prowess and attacking flair flourished, making him a key figure in the Reds’ triumphs, including the Champions League and Premier League titles.

Now, as Liverpool navigates a new era under manager Arne Slot, Robertson has discussed the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

He has reflected on the transition from Klopp’s leadership to Slot’s approach, and how the team is adapting to the different styles of play. With his unwavering commitment and exceptional ability, Robertson remains a vital asset for Liverpool as they strive to maintain their position at the pinnacle of English football.

Catch Andy Robertson live in action on Showmax Premier League as Liverpool take on Wolves at the Molineux Stadium on Saturday, 28 September, at 18:30.

Were you always obsessed with football? Was it always a dream to be a footballer?

Yeah, I think anyone that knew me, know, my family, my mum and dad, my brother, know that I was always out in my back garden playing. I was always out in the street playing with my friends and playing with my big brother. I think the dream was always to be to be a footballer. I didn’t maybe believe it would happen. But I think I just love the game. I always used to go and watch football. I used to play football at any given moment, any time I came back from school, any time in school. So I was always kicking a ball or kicking stones down the street or whatever. So it was maybe always meant to be. I’ve loved football probably since the moment I was born, and I still love it to this day.

Was there a moment you can remember as a kid where you thought, I’m pretty good at football? I’m actually a lot better than my mates, and I stand out a bit.

I think in school. I always remember in the school playground when we used to play, the janitor that was there used to always put me on my right foot and stuff like that or like two touch and things like that. So, he always used to do fun stuff like that, that maybe made the game a bit fairer or whatever. He used to try and split the good players up and split them into different teams. I was at Celtic when I was seven, in their pre youth academy and then I got signed when I was nine. So, I suppose that was the moment when I maybe knew I was on the right path, kind of getting signed with such a big club and you know, a youth club at the age of nine years old.

And then it was just up to me to try and improve from that moment on. But like I said, I just played football constantly, I loved playing it. I loved watching it as well. And I think that helped me massively as well.

So the Celtic story, which a lot of people won’t know, you’re a Celtic fan, as you say, you were in their academy. How did that go and how did that end and what was that experience like?

It went well at the start. I remember when I was young, and they had Tommy Burns in the youth setup, who I think everyone adored at the club and I think everyone adored in the country. He was such an amazing person, even from an early age. I knew that. And all the parents got on well with him. And he liked me as a as a player and my brother and his son went to school together, and I always used to see him at their games and things like that. And look, I was in a good moment, but then obviously it got to the under 15s, where all of a sudden the jump to under 17s was happening. Tommy Burns had passed away by that point. And there was obviously a kind of change at Celtic, where there were new coaches, a new head of youth and things like that.

And they went and they went on a different path. And whoever made the decision believed that I wasn’t probably ready for the for the step up in terms of physicality and things like that. When I look back on it now, it was the best thing that happened to me. You know, it was obviously difficult at the time being 15 and supporting the club all my life. And loving the club and knowing that, you know, the dream of playing for them probably wasn’t going to happen. But I look back on it with a lot of different memories.

You use the word difficult. It happens to lots of teenagers to this day. Before Queen’s Park, was there an element of doubt or were you built like “I’m going to show them that this is wrong, I can make it”?

No, I think at the start there was doubt because it was probably the first time in my career that somebody says effectively, you weren’t good enough for what was coming. You know, whatever the reasons were, they didn’t think that I was good enough to make the step to the next level at Celtic. So that was the first time that had ever happened to me.

Obviously, the years before I’d got kept on and played very regularly and things like that. And so yeah, there was doubts. Of course there was. And then it was about trying to pick the right club and the right moment for me. Look, when Queen’s Park first came, it didn’t overly excite me. Not in a bad way, but obviously I was at Celtic and Queen’s Park were in the bottom division. But what they were well known for was having a very good youth academy, which I probably didn’t know at that time. So I went there for a week and just thought I’ll see how it goes. I knew a couple of players there that I’d went to school with and that had played at Celtic before as well. And I thought I’ll go and give it a go.

And to be fair, I was blown away with the standard of coaching and I think my mum and dad felt as if that was good for me as well. And I would get an opportunity and then I committed to it.

Those barriers you’d had to overcome, did they stand you in good stead for appreciating what you’d actually had at that time?

Yeah. Of course. I think then it kind of changed, obviously, with being at Celtic. You’re the biggest club in the country. You’re the players that when you play week in, week out, they all look at you. Even at youth level, you know when you play against the other clubs, they probably look at you and think, okay, I want your shirt or I want to play. And then all of a sudden I was probably an underdog as such. And I kind of stayed that way the whole way. And I probably still believe that. I still believe that I’m kind of that. And I think that suited me a lot better.Just being that underdog and being like, you know what? I’m going to prove X, Y, and Z of what I can do.

Whoever it was probably still have doubts to this day. And now because of that setback, I just enjoy proving people wrong.

And you’d obviously grown up seeing a lot of players go from Scotland to England, but that wasn’t necessarily in your mind at that moment until Hull came in for you?

In the January window I had a couple of clubs interested. I think Everton tried to bid for me and then loan me back to Dundee United. So, I knew there was Premier League interest. And there was a couple other clubs kind of sniffing about. But I just didn’t think about it. I just lived in the moment, and I didn’t really think too far ahead until I didn’t even let it affect me.

The next pre-season, when bids were coming in, bids were getting rejected. I was very much in the mindset of, until a bid is accepted, then I’ll have a decision to make. And once the chairman told me that the bid was accepted, then that was up to me to make the decision. And then obviously I made the call.

So what was that like coming from Scotland to England at that age under Steve Bruce?

Look, I was very fortunate that I walked into a fantastic changing room and I walked into a fantastic manager as well. I think I was very lucky that I made that right decision. Steve Bruce was unbelievable for me. He really looked out for me and helped me, especially in the first couple of months. You know, me moving away from home and being on my own and being quite isolated. But I was also very lucky that I had a couple of Scottish teammates there in Alan McGregor and Robert Snodgrass. The squad were just a fantastic group of boys so the changing room was so easy to fit into, and it was so easy to just be yourself and try and focus on football. And that’s what I did.

So the big question is, when did you first hear get a whisper that Liverpool were interested in you?

I was going into my last year of my contract, and we realised that Liverpool were maybe going to be interested. But you never you never quite believe it until it happens. So still I managed to put it in the back of my mind, which was impressive when I look back on it. You know, when you think of such a massive club potentially being interested in you. But I kept on telling myself it’s only potential. There was nothing that could happen immediately. It could only happen in the summer. And then, by the time the summer comes, unfortunately, we got relegated, then I knew it was my time to move on from Hull. And I didn’t know where that was going to be, but I was obviously kind of quite keen to then leave and stay in the Premier League. And I was just very fortunate that that Liverpool came calling.

So when it became concrete, can you remember the first time you actually met Jürgen Klopp or spoke to him? Because so many people have these stories of his presence, his personality, when you’ve obviously looked at him from afar and there you are, one on one with him.

I always remember I was training. I think there was a couple of lads left back that were injured and I was training with them and the lads had just landed back from Singapore. I just seen the manager kind of walk over and like you say, he has that presence. As soon as you look at him, you know it was quite special to see. He just came over, you know, gave me one of his hugs. And then we just kind of spoke away and he was just saying, how delighted he was for me to be here and he was there to try and help me settle in and things like that. And then I think we went to Germany the next week, and I’d done a lot of work in terms of trying to learn, because the way he wanted full-backs to play was a completely new way for me. It took me a bit of time.

Football’s all about timing. Do you feel you’ve evolved with the success of Liverpool, with the manager, with his project?

Yeah. Of course. Look, everyone looks at, probably the window that I signed and then the January and then the next summer as being very crucial. I don’t think many people would have put me at the top of the signings, that’s for sure. At the time, I signed the same window as Mo and and Ox, who were two massive players for the club’s success. And then we signed Virgil in January. And then obviously, I think in the next summer we maybe signed Fabinho and Alisson, which was kind of people were saying, okay, the missing pieces of the puzzle. I suppose I signed at the right time because we then had the momentum.

Obviously my first season there, we got to the Champions League final. We then lost, but we believe that we were building something. We believed we had a bit of momentum behind us. And then the next season we’d done a really good season in terms of okay, we’ve just missed out on a point for Premier League, but we managed to get our hands on the Champions League, which was incredible. So the momentum was with Liverpool at that time. Everyone started noticing Liverpool again. And I think timing is everything in football and I think I signed for the club at the perfect time.

What’s that feeling like when you feel a part of a group with a manager like that, that’s only heading in one positive way?

Yeah, at that time, it was amazing. You know, you felt you were going into games, feeling invincible. You know, you just felt as if you just looked about the changing room and felt, no, we are too strong. And you looked at his face and you knew he was going to be on it. And it was just like, okay, well, I need to be on it today. And I think we all just fed off that and everyone just fed off that energy for the whole two seasons where we won the Champions League and then the following season we won the Premier League.

I just think no team wanted to play us, and I think there’s only certain teams that can have that kind of aura about them, and I think we had that at that time, and I think everyone, it was as if we kind of started games one nil up in the in the tunnel because of what we had. And that was a special group. And it was a special feeling to have that.

Was that energy right from the manager? Did he kick start it?

He turned us from doubters to believers in terms of the fans. But he also turned the players from doubters to believers, you know, and I think he always touched on as well that we’d all had setbacks within our career. I think at that time, when you look at it, we’d all had setbacks. We’d all probably been told that we weren’t good enough at one point as well. You know, in terms of even when you look at the big players, you know, Mo, you know, obviously had to leave Chelsea when he was younger because they felt he couldn’t cut it. The Premier League I think Virg had a couple of setbacks when he was a kid and things like that. So, you know, we all didn’t have plain sailing, you know, roots to the top. And I think we always we use our setbacks to push us forward even further.

And I think the manager used that message, but he made us believe like we’ve never believed before. And I think that that’s where it started with him. But then it was up to us to to carry it on to the pitch. And I think we’ve done that very well.

You touched on the Champions League there, which is obviously steeped in history here. Did that make it feel so special when you eventually ended that for a club this size?

So, when you sign here, and when you do the media day and you kind of deal with people within here, you don’t feel it as much. But the first fan interaction you have is we need to win the league, you know? And I always remember it. I was staying in a hotel the first couple of weeks when I came here. And you bump into Liverpool fans, you bump into Scousers and you know, it was the first thing that was on their mind. It was it was what they needed. We felt as if we wanted to be the group to achieve that. We wanted to be the group to get their first Premier League title and get Liverpool back on that podium. And I think that’s just why we worked so hard on the training pitch, but also in games. We made sure we were 100% spot on in every single game. And, you know, just try our best to achieve that for them. And thankfully we got there in the end.

So that is football. Having captained your country in the summer, you walk back into this training ground this summer and see a new manager. I mean, did that in all honesty take a little bit of getting used to after what you’re saying? You’ve only ever known Jürgen Klopp at this club.

Yeah, that’s the thing you’ve only ever known it. And then suddenly there’s new coaches, there’s new sports scientists. There were just new people all about the place. And it was like, okay, now I need to get to know him. And it was strange, but, you know, I have been through my managerial changes at Hull, so I was probably used to new people coming in, whereas other people probably, maybe weren’t as such. It was refreshing as well. You came back refreshed. You came back eager to impress a new manager, eager to impress your new staff, get on side with them and try and prove what you’ve got to do.

Are you learning new things from a different manager?

Look, we’re learning so much. You know, pre-season was tough for the lads in terms of physical, but also mentally in terms of getting so much information on board. But I think the message was this will stand you in good stead to kick start the season. Well, and I think we’ve seen that. But we know there’s still room for improvement. And I think that’s what the manager’s driven home to us already. We’ve started well, but there’s still room for improvement.

It’s handshakes now, not bear hugs, right? You don’t get any of those.

Yeah, exactly.

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