LIVERPOOL LEFT-BACK ANDY Robertson admits he has struggled to replicate his club form on an international stage with Scotland, saying “some games as captain I’ve not been good enough”.
The 26-year-old has filled the armband for his country for 12 months now.
As a senior performer regularly turning out on Premier League and Champions League stages with his club, Robertson is considered to be the best fit for a leadership role with Scotland.
Not everybody is convinced that he has revelled in that responsibility, with the hard-working defender conceding that his standards have slipped at times.
More criticism has come his way on the back of a 2-1 Euro 2020 qualifying defeat to Russia, with Robertson telling reporters: “Being criticised, rightly or wrongly, it’s maybe stronger now that I’m captain.
“But these are things I’m made for. If people criticise me, it’s fine. I’d prefer they didn’t because it means I’ve put in a good performance, but sometimes that doesn’t always go your way.
“Some games as captain I’ve not been good enough, some I have been, but that’s me to look at my own performance. That’s what I’ve looked at over the last few games.
“I don’t like getting beat anyway, but on Friday I maybe dwelled on it longer than usual. I’ve learned a lot. Good things and bad things.”
Robertson added on his role as skipper, with Alex McLeish having first appointed him captain: “I said a year ago what a big honour it was, that’s not changed, I’m delighted to be the captain of this country, I love doing it and I hope the lads think I’m doing a good job.
“There’s also negatives that come along with it that I need to deal with and it’s about learning how to deal with them. I think I’m getting better at that.”
Things are not about to get any easier for Robertson and Scotland, with their next outing on Monday set to see them face a Belgium side that tops the FIFA rankings.
“Rankings don’t lie, they’re the best team in the world,” Robertson added.
“To get that big result would be massive for us, but unfortunately in this campaign it would only be three points.
“It would open it up again, but we would still need another couple of big results. We need to try to get a result because, if we don’t, I think it’ll leave us too much to do.
“We need to go out and play with no fear and try and enjoy it, because I don’t feel as if we look as if we’re enjoying it as much as we probably should be. We’re representing our country.”
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