He’s already surpassed McLeish and McStay… now he’s got King Kenny firmly in his sights. Andy Robertson may be captain of his country and a Champions League winner with Liverpool.
But the boy from Clarkston still cannot quite believe the company he’s keeping when it comes to Scotland caps. In Warsaw on Monday night, he decided to celebrate his 80th with a winning goal in injury time. From left-back, the skipper grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck to seal a 2-1 victory over Poland. The result was the most important thing for Steve Clarke’s side as they set up a Nations League play-off in March to try to remain in the top tier.
But for Robertson personally, it was a landmark night. He’s now joint third on the SFA’s all-time cap list beside former team-mate Darren Fletcher. And with only Jim Leighton between himself and Kenny Dalglish, who is on 102, the 30-year-old wants to overtake a national icon. The pair are close friends, of course, with Dalglish being particularly welcoming to a fellow Scot when he arrived on Merseyside just over seven years ago.
Robertson still has a bit to go to catch the Anfield legend. But after hitting the 80-cap milestone at the same venue as he got his first in 2014, he admits it’s surreal even seeing his name on the Scotland Roll of Honour.
He said: “There’s a part of me that still has to pinch myself when I look at the names there, of course there is. I try to live a very normal life in a kind of abnormal world.
“Look, I love playing for my country. But I see me taking over the likes of Alex McLeish and Paul McStay, you do look and think, ‘These guys were greats of the game’. They are players who my dad and my grandad would always talk to me about. For me to be in the same room as them in terms of caps is incredibly humbling.
“But I’m hungry and I always want more. Maybe that’s sometimes my downfall. I don’t look back, I always try to look forward. I got 80 caps on Monday but I’m now looking at March when hopefully I can get 81. It means everything to me.
“Warsaw was the place I got my first cap, which was the most special day of my career – for myself and my family. You don’t know what journey you’re going to go on at that point. That was still very early for me.
“Now to be standing here with 80 and equalling a legend like Fletch is amazing. I played with him and he was an unbelievable player, an unbelievable captain. He probably should have got more caps if it wasn’t for his illness. The fact I’ve been able to equal him is very humbling and I’m really proud of that.”
You wouldn’t bet against Robertson going above Leighton on 91 and then catching Dalglish over the next couple of years. If he stays fit and continues to excel in the Premier League, he’ll be a mainstay in Clarke’s side for sure. But if he does become Scotland’s all-time record cap holder, how will the conversation go with Dalglish if they bump into each other at Anfield?
Robertson added: “I’ve never brought it up actually! But I’m lucky to have Kenny in my corner, where I can rely on him for a lot of things. He’s so good with me and my family down in Liverpool. He looks after me, he’s always on the other end of the phone.
“To have a legend like that in your corner with Liverpool and Scotland is a massive help. But I’d love to catch him, I don’t think that’s any secret.
“I know there’s a long way to go and there’s a reason why that record has been in place for a long time. It’s so hard to get there, so we’ll wait and see. When I got my first cap I’d have been happy with that. To now be sitting with 80, I’m incredibly proud and hopefully there’s more to come.”
Robertson will never be renowned for scoring goals but his bullet header to down the Poles on Monday was a thing of beauty. With the clock running down, he darted in to meet John Souttar cross at the back stick to secure a stunning win.
He doesn’t get many but Robertson says it was one of his best – and exactly what Scotland deserved. The captain added: “I’ve waited a long time for that one. The most important thing was to win the game and we’ve shown that we never give up.
“It was just my turn to step up late on but we always go right to the end. We got what we deserved. As soon as John wound his foot up I thought, ‘This has got a chance of going back post’. I thought, ‘Let me be in there’ to at least give myself a chance.
“It’s probably one of my better headers. I’ve scored more headed goals than I have with my feet! I was just delighted to get the win because our performances in this camp merited it. We probably deserved more points within the group, so I’m glad we got them on Monday night.”