One of the main questions of the summer surrounded stalwart left back Andy Robertson and his status within the squad. Though he was recently named official vice captain, he had seemingly fallen out of favor with new coach Arne Slot last season. With the addition of Milos Kerkez to the club this summer, his status was thrown even further into question, and it appears that even Robbo himself was questioning whether or not it was time to move on.
Robertson spoke about the upheaval in a press conference
while on international duty representing Scotland, acknowledging what was by all appearances a difficult situation.
“It’s not been awkward, I don’t think awkward is the right word. I think it has been difficult for different reasons, I’m used to playing pretty much every game,” the Scottish captain said.
“I’ve had eight years at Liverpool where apart from the very start, I was always a starter, I was always playing. And now the first three [Premier League] games, I’ve obviously found myself on the bench, which is what it is.
“I had time to think over the summer as to what I wanted. I made a decision and I still believe that if I keep doing what I’m doing then I’ll play a lot of games for club and country. And that’s my main focus this season.
“My main focus is, when called upon, to produce as well as I can for Scotland and to produce as well as I can for Liverpool.
“Hopefully I can look back in the summer that I’m heading to a World Cup and I’ve maybe got a couple more trophies in my back pocket as well.”
Robertson joined Liverpool in 2017 and has won almost literally everything there is to win with the Reds, including the two Premier League titles and a Champions League cup. He has been the Scot that has helped us win everything, because as lore dictates, Liverpool can only win with a Scot in the squad. But for the first time since joining in 2017, Robertson had to properly pause and consider if being at Liverpool was beneficial for him as it looked like his playing time wold be curtailed somewhat.
“It was the first summer ever that I’ve probably had to think about my future, it has always been nailed on as to where I’m going to be and what my position looks like,” Robertson continued.
“For the first time I probably had to consider different things and I did that with my family, and ultimately we came to the conclusion that our hearts were still at Liverpool and it was a decision to stay.
“We committed to that and it’s one I don’t regret and I’m happy about. In the close-season I’ve worked probably harder than I’ve ever worked, and in pre-season I’ve come back in really good shape, felt strong and felt really good in pre-season. I think I showed that in training and games.
“The start of the season is always a bit difficult, there’s only a game week to week. Obviously we’ve got off to a really good start, three [wins] out of three [in the Premier League] so from a manager’s perspective there’s not much reason to change anyone’s position really.
“When we get back we have pretty much three games every week from the Sunday we get back until the next international break. So, I’m sure there will be a bit more rotation. Whether it happens in my position is yet to be seen, none of us can look into the future.
“But I believe I’ve done everything I can to be in the manager’s thoughts and that’s all I can do.”
With potentially over 50 matches on the horizon, and having sent Kostas Tsimikas on loan, it’s likely that Robbo will get the game time he deserves, even if it is still slightly more limited than before. But it is better to have him than not have him, especially now that he is effectively Virgil Van Dijk’s second in command when it comes to the squad.
