Andy Robertson hits back at his critics’ ‘overreactions’ to his Liverpool performances this season and being ‘written off’ after Arsenal draw

It was almost exactly three years ago that Jurgen Klopp was asked if Andy Robertson was still the main man at left back for Liverpool despite the form of his understudy, Kostas Tsimikas. The German laughed.

‘Robbo is the best left back in the world,’ he replied. And that was that, as they say. Obviously, Klopp had a dose of bias given he was Robertson’s manager – but, at the time, not many could argue with his verdict on the Scotland captain.

Three years on from that debate on Bonfire Night 2021, the same questions were posed to the Liverpool boss, now Arne Slot – and the response was slightly different. ‘I think my line-ups tell you what I think about this,’ he said.

He was speaking on the back of two matches in a row where Tsimikas had been given the nod ahead of Robertson. The Greek full back has also started three of four Champions League matches and put in several strong performances.

Robertson had doubters for the first time in his Liverpool career. Into his eighth year at Anfield, the 30-year-old is having to fight for his place harder than ever before, or certainly since he wrestled the XI spot from Alberto Moreno in 2018 on the way to the Champions League final.

The Scotsman came under some criticism for his performance in the draw with Arsenal

But this boy from Giffnock has made a career out of those scraps for success, getting over setbacks and proving people wrong. He was released as an Under 15 at Celtic and could have given up but battled back to the top, via Queen’s Park, Dundee United and Hull City.

‘Probably a bad 45 minutes of football against Arsenal, it was not great… I think pretty much everyone had written me off after that,’ Robertson told reporters on Saturday. ‘That is football and that is what happens these days. People can write me off all they want.

‘Last couple of games I’ve been on the bench and I got doubters for the first time in a long time, first time at this club. But it suits me in this position. I am trying to prove people wrong. Look, I am a lot older and a lot wiser now than when I came in.

‘When I first came in I was only 23, first time playing for a big club. I have been here for seven years and won everything, played in a lot of big games. I am a lot more experienced and a lot better at switching off from everything like overreactions and things like that.’

He was speaking after a fine performance in a 2-0 win over fellow Champions League side Aston Villa as Liverpool pulled five points clear of champions Manchester City atop the Premier League.

Funnily enough, his manager Slot was standing in earshot as he was waiting for Unai Emery to finish his post-match press conference before entering the media room. ‘The manager is very open and honest,’ he added. ‘We have spoken quite a few times, good conversations.

‘There is mutual respect between both of us even if we don’t agree with the team line-ups! I like starting and being on the pitch but when I’m not I try to be as professional as I can and just try to do my talking on the training pitch and wait for my chance.’

Given his aforementioned back-story, two matches on the bench are not reason to panic for Robertson. And fans writing him off, as he says, must have short memories. He deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as a long list of legends created at Anfield in the last decade.

Robertson is having to fight for his place harder than ever before amid Kostas Tsimikas’ (pictured) strong performances

Mail Sport understands there are certainly no issues from either end with Robertson or Liverpool. New boss Slot, who has overseen a remarkable start with 15 wins in 17 games, is a huge admirer of the full back but understands that he is 30 and cannot play every week.

This is part-led by Ruben Peeters, Slot’s head of performance who specialises in ‘periodisation’ – essentially managing workloads with detailed dossiers handed to the head coach every day. After a broken pre-season, Robertson is one that needs to be monitored carefully.

He has played just five full 90 minutes in 17 games this season after suffering an ankle injury with Scotland in March. He played through pain in Liverpool’s run-in and the European Championship but never fully got over what eventually turned out to be a ligament issue.

Robertson was in the United States for the pre-season tour but did not play and flew back early with a fitness coach. His only friendly outing was against Las Palmas a week before the season started, and thus Slot is not surprised at all that he has been unable to play every game.

It is understood the Liverpool coaches also wonder if Robertson is ‘thinking’ too much on the pitch and is not moving freely in the new-look system, overcomplicating where he needs to be on and off the ball. Soon, his positioning may become instinctive again.

Insiders stress that Reds boss Arne Slot and Co have been massively impressed with Robertson’s conduct 

But aside from his supposed struggles for form – there may have been a slight dip from his breathtaking best but he is still a world-class player – Robertson is stepping up as a crucial leader in the dressing room for club and country.

Former Reds skipper Jordan Henderson used to call him Stuart Little, a nod to how the class clown was always the loudest voice – apart from on the bus to games when he would not know answers to quiz questions when stars were playing the interactive game Tenable.

‘Robbo is such a great lad, the joker in our squad, brilliant for morale in the dressing room and someone you always want on your side,’ wrote Henderson in his autobiography. He is still the comedian, although he is poked fun at by other players for his sweet tooth.

Insiders stress that Slot and Co have been massively impressed with his conduct as an experienced head in the group and how he responds to being dropped. They should not be surprised – he has made a career of getting over setbacks and will do it again here.