Robertson singles out Liverpool youngster after realisation at pre-match meal
Andy Robertson commended Liverpool’s Class of ’24 after the Kop kids walked tall at Wembley and admitted: “It wasn’t a risk playing them - we had no choice.”
At the team’s pre-match meal before Sunday’s dramatic Carabao Cup final humbling of Chelsea ’s designer labels from Billionaires’ Row, Robertson looked around the table and realised a platoon of Liverpool ’s big guns was missing. Somehow the Reds stood firm with teenagers James McConnell (19), Bobby Clark (19) and Jayden Danns (18) taking the chequered flag.
Robertson echoed his manager Jurgen Klopp ’s assessment that the 1-0 win after extra time was “right up there” in terms of the club’s trophy-winning achievements. By the end, only two certain starters in an optimum Liverpool XI - matchwinner Virgil van Dijk and winger Luis Diaz - were on the pitch.
And Scotland captain Robertson said: “Of course, we believe in the young lads and team we had on the pitch. But when everyone showed up for the pre-match meal, we saw all the quality players we had missing.
“It has to rank right up there - we’ve got a lot of players out, but hopefully they come back and we can be a bit stronger for the rest of the season. The final was difficult but good teams find a way and that’s what we did.
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“Winning games builds confidence and momentum - that’s how it works, we’ve got another game soon and we need to see what type of team we can get out against Southampton (in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday night).
"We’ve picked up a lot of bumps and bruises but there’s another match in a short space of time. We didn’t want to make excuses, but what were our options? We had 45,000 expectant Liverpool fans at Wembley, we couldn’t feel sorry for ourselves.
“We went out with everything we’ve got and more and got a winners’ medal. That’s all that matters in cup finals.”
Andy Robertson feels Liverpool's win is among their biggest achievements under Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool FC via Getty Images)Almost 20 years ago, in his role as a Match of the Day pundit, Liverpool legend Alan Hansen famously said “You can’t win anything with kids.”
But Klopp’s remarkable Liver bird chicks - eight of his Wembley matchday squad came through academy director Alex Inglethorpe’s Kop kindergarten - have proved him wrong. And Robertson said: “Playing the youngsters is not a risk because we see them every single day - and what else are we meant to do?
“That was the (best available) bench we had today and we see the quality they have on the training ground day-to-day. We didn’t believe it was a risk. It was just about them expressing themselves. Credit goes to the academy and the coaches. You know how much work they put in.
“The experienced players, manager and coaches just said, ‘Go out and play with freedom. This is the biggest stage, enjoy it, don’t come off with regrets.’ I thought they were all different class. Bobby [Clark], especially, I thought he took the game by the scruff of the neck.
“It’s incredible, you need your academy, especially when you have so many injuries. We were getting tired but we brought on fresh legs.
Robertson hailed the contributions of Liverpool's youngsters including Jayden Danns (R) (Paul Dennis/TGS Photo/REX/Shutterstock)“James McConnell brought composure on the ball. Some of the lads have never played a full game for the first team. We tried to help them with and luckily it paid off. We are very proud of them.
“The subs who came on did a fantastic job - the lads were getting tired after an intense game against Luton in midweek and they brought fresh legs. The oldest player on the pitch got the goal. So the experienced lads helped out as well.”
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At other clubs, academy kids who are handed monster contracts and show off their material wealth develop a swagger beyond their years. But Robertson says Liverpool’s youngsters are kept on a tight leash by senior first-teamers - and that humility shines through on the pitch.
He said: “That comes from the coaches, driving that attitude into them, and when they come up to the first team we don’t allow them to get too far ahead of themselves. I think the squad and the coaches are very good ensuring we don’t give them too much too soon, and that’s key to it.
“And fair play to them - it also comes from their own mentality. These kids are all good lads, they want to do well and you could see the excitement in them when they woke up and they knew they were going to get a chance in a big final.
“That is all you can ask for from the young lads. Of course they will make mistakes in life and things like that, but it it up to us to help them and against Chelsea they were spot-on.”
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