Andy Robertson on fitness latest, Napoli test and Reds' record
Andy Robertson offered positive news on his recent ankle complaint as he previewed Liverpool’s Champions League fixture with Napoli during a press conference on Tuesday.
The full-back was forced to withdraw from international duty with Scotland due to the issue, but was able to complete the 90 minutes of the Reds’ dramatic 2-1 win at Crystal Palace at the weekend.
Robertson detailed how he has been working with the club’s medical team to manage the injury, confirming he is making progress in the return to full fitness.
In addition as he tackled questions from reporters, the No.26 explained why he’s expecting a stern test from Napoli at Anfield tomorrow night as Liverpool aim to book a place in the last 16 of the Champions League with one group game to spare.
Read on for a summary of what he had to say…
On the latest on his recent ankle injury…
It has been [feeling] better to be fair, just a bit stiff after matches but it is something I can manage with and something I am quite happy with. It’s slightly painful, but if you don’t have any pain in the amount of games we play then I suppose you’re doing something wrong! All the lads are managing stuff and we’re all good. I feel good, feel fresh and hopefully that continues.
On Liverpool’s clean sheet record so far this season…
It is a good question and probably one we probably can’t quite put our finger on. Some of the goals we’ve conceded have been of high quality and some of them have been poor from us. It is important we get back to clean sheets because they are the ones we [the defenders] are good at and then it lets the attackers go and do what they do. If you’re conceding in games then you can’t always rely on scoring late or coming from behind or whatever. It would be nice to get back to the clean sheets and we believe we’re in a position where we can do that, hopefully that starts tomorrow night.
On Liverpool’s fixture schedule in December…
I think for us when we look at it, it is sort of a compliment because we look back on it and it shows you the reason we have all of these fixtures is because we’ve been successful. If you ask me if I would swap my Champions League winner’s medal for less fixtures, absolutely not. For me, the fixtures are credit to us because of our success. That’s something that we’ve got to look at and we’ve got to take the positives. Of course, playing two games in 24 hours isn’t ideal and however the manager is going to deal with it then that’s fine. We’ve got two big competitions and hopefully with the two squads we put out, both of them will be strong enough to try and see us through. If not, then it’s a consequence of not being able to fit enough games in. We believe that any team that goes out is good enough to win the games and that’s what we have got to be aiming to do for those two ones, especially.
On managing his recent ankle issue…
I think the lads are seeing me in the treatment toom too much, to be honest; I think the physios are sick of treating me! Look, it is just about trying to get it going, it just takes a wee bit longer to loosen up in training, so maybe an extensive warm-up, going out a wee bit earlier and things like that - it just gets it going and then it feels OK. Once it gets going, it is fine – it is just a bit of stiffness because there is not enough time to rest it. It is fine and in games it feels the best because you probably get half an hour to warm-up instead of maybe 10 or 15 minutes before training, so for me it is all good and in games it feels good and that’s all that matters for me.
On the need to rest the ankle injury…
I get paid to play games and I get paid to train, so I don’t want to miss training sessions. All the lads are the same, we don’t want to miss any training sessions, we don’t want to miss any games. Genk at home is probably the best example for me; I wanted to play, but the manager made his mind up that I was only going to play one of the Aston Villa or Genk games and he chose Aston Villa. It’s about managing [it]. It happened with Mo at the weekend. He would have been desperate to play, but for him it was best to have an extra couple of days rest. We all want to play, we all want to play games, but unfortunately sometimes it is not quite possible and sometimes people need to step in to tell you otherwise and you need to respect that.
On whether he ‘fears’ that a teammate would take his spot in the side if he didn’t play during his ongoing ankle issue…
I’m not sure it’s a fear, but we know we have a top-quality squad and everyone that’s maybe not playing as much can come in and, not kick somebody out, but come in and do a good job. I think you see it with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, he’s a perfect example, he’s come in and done fantastic. He started against Palace and is doing well for England, so he’s back, back pushing everyone, and that’s what our squad is like - everyone’s pushing each other. It’s not quite a fear but for me I just don’t want to miss games. I like playing football and I like being out on the big stage. For me, sitting up in the stands is not good for me and it’s probably not good for my heart and stuff like that! I much prefer being on the pitch than off it.
On the possible added incentive that a win on Wednesday would make the final group game at Salzburg a ‘dead rubber’…
Look, for us we don’t think about. The Salzburg game, nothing could change if we do win tomorrow night but we just think that we want to qualify for the last 16. I don’t think anyone is thinking ‘win tomorrow and I don’t need to go to Salzburg’ or ‘win tomorrow and I don’t need to play’. We don’t think like that, we just think that by winning tomorrow we have qualified with an extra game week to go, which is something we’ve not done since I’ve been here. We’ve always gone down to the last day, so it’d be nice to change that and that is what our aim and goal is for tomorrow. We don’t think ahead that far and if the manager does have the luxury of picking and choosing who he wants [against Salzburg] then so be it, but that is down to us if we’ve done a job beforehand. That’s what we’ve got to aim to do.
On what makes Napoli such a tough opponent…
The manager is a very good one, tactically and the way they play and set-up is very good and that’s down to him. But also they have top-quality players and that’s probably why the games against us have been so close. But we know we can cause anyone problems as well and it’s up to us to be at 100 per cent tomorrow night and if we are, I believe we will cause them problems. Whether it’s enough remains to be seen but I believe that if we are at 100 per cent and we’re firing on all cylinders then we can beat anyone, and Napoli are no different to that. So hopefully we can produce a performance we can be proud of and get the three points because we know what’s at stake and we know what happens if we get the three points. That’s got be our drive for tomorrow night.
On talk that Liverpool have not been at their best so far this season, despite their incredible Premier League record…
I’m not really buying into it because we’ve found ways to win. We’ve been going right to the end and we’ve been putting in special performances in different ways. Some games, like Man City and Tottenham, we played unbelievable but then against, for instance Aston Villa or Crystal Palace, we had to dig deep. We weren’t at our best but we had to dig deep and find a way to win. That’s what we’ve been so good at. In the Premier League, we’ve got 37 points so we can’t really moan about anything! But we are team that are trying to strive for perfection. That’s not always possible but if we keep striving towards that then we’ll get there. If people are saying that we haven’t hit our heights then hopefully that comes and it’d be nice when that happens. Clean sheets, it’d be nice to get more of them and a few more comfortable wins because the 90th-minute winners… I think the fans would love a game where they could sit down for the last 10 minutes and enjoy it! But we’ve not quite managed to produce that for a while so hopefully we can get back to doing that as well because we want them to come and enjoy it, not biting their nails right up to the 93rd, 94th minute!