Andy Robertson on unseen Arne Slot impact and honest take on Liverpool form

'Don't get me wrong' - Andy Robertson on unseen Arne Slot impact and honest take on Liverpool form

Andy Robertson speaks ahead of Liverpool's Carabao Cup final clash with Newcastle United at Wembley

Andrew Robertson of Liverpool during a training session during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD8 training and press conference at AXA Melwood Training Centre on January 28, 2025 (Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images )

Replacing Jurgen Klopp was always going to be an onerous task for whoever took on the challenge. But it didn't take long for Arne Slot to convince he was very much on the same page as the Liverpool squad.

When the Reds jetted out to start their pre-season tour of the United States in Pittsburgh last July, Slot sat down with his new charges and mapped out his vision for the forthcoming campaign.

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Andy Robertson picks up the tale. “He basically said ‘we finished third last season and the season before, but we now want to finish above the other two'," says the left-back.. "So, in his mind, it was clear that he was coming to win trophies. It wasn’t like he’d be happy with the top four. The players could get on board with that."

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So they have. And while Liverpool stand 15 points clear at the Premier League summit with nine games remaining, the most immediate aim is to ensure a trophy for Slot at the first time of asking in the League Cup final against Newcastle United at Wembley this afternoon.

While Joe Fagan and Kenny Dalglish also claimed silverware in their debut campaign in charge, both had the knowledge of many years previous at the club. Slot, then, is on the brink of following Rafael Benitez as only the second 'outsider' to win a trophy within 12 months of being appointed Liverpool boss.

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"When you’re at a club like Liverpool you can’t afford a settling-in period," admits Robertson. "It’s a massive club that expects to win trophies - and the manager was very clear on that from his first day.

“He came into a changing room and saw players that expect and are hungry to win trophies. That helped him and his staff to be positive as well. In pre-season he tried to get as many ideas as possible across to us so we could fire away.

“We got off to a good start and that momentum has carried on, but there’s still nine games to go in the league and we’ve got a lot of work to do. But as we sit here today, we’re in a really good spot.”

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A spot, though, in which Liverpool are unlikely to remain for too much longer in their current guise. The arrival of a new manager always brings with it a refresh of the playing staff. And while it may have been delayed by a season, the evolution of the squad under Slot is expected to be accelerated in the forthcoming transfer window.

For Robertson, now 31, there is an acceptance a natural conclusion is approaching. And he isn't the only one, with Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold all, as things stand, set to leave on a free transfer in the summer while Alisson Becker and Wataru Endo are also in their thirties.

The end, though, may not necessarily be this year. "We don’t know when, but it will come to an end shortly," admits Robertson, speaking to a select group of journalists at the AXA Training Centre.. "I think you see the age of the players who have been here a long time, there's a few of us in our thirties.

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"But lads have made it clear they want to continue here and so do we all. We're not really looking at it as the last dance. Players come and go all the time, that's part and parcel at every football club. We've lost players pretty much every year since I've been here.

"People want new players into our club, people want players out. That's just the world we live in. That's fans for you. That's everything else for you. There's always somebody elsewhere that they like the look of. That's the world we live in."

Slot has overseen a change in Robertson's game, with the Scotland international less inclined to bomb down the left flank as under Klopp. Indeed, he has just the one assist this season, although he managed only two last term when Alexander-Arnold operated primarily as an inverted right-back.

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"I'm in a different phase of my career now," observes Robertson. "The manager is asking different things as well, when maybe you've been at a club for so long and people are used to you playing one way, then they maybe don't accept you playing in another way or you think you've dropped.

"Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some of my not-best performances this season, but I've also had some what I think were really good performances that maybe haven't been highlighted as much as maybe they were five, six years ago when I was the new kid on the block.

"So I'm very happy where I’m at just now. The last couple of months I've been a kind of a mainstay in the team and played some really good stuff and the team has played really good stuff, which is the most important thing.

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"I'd happily drop a one out of 10 every single week if the team kept on winning - although obviously at a club like Liverpool, you don't stay in the team very long if you do that!"

Of the differences between Slot and predecessor Klopp, Robertson says: "The principles are always there but he changes a lot more on a game-to-game basis, whereas under the previous regime I think our blueprint to win a game was unmatched. We knew that if we did that to 100% then the majority of teams couldn’t live with us. We’ve changed a bit more this season in terms of who we are playing against or how we can cause them problems with slight tweaks.

"He’s brought a calmer approach on the ball. It’s not as frantic but there are certain elements of what we had in previous sessions that are still there. He still wants us to be full of energy, with a high press and things like that.

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“Credit to the manager and all of his staff. They always work tirelessly, look at the opposition and miss nothing. Then it’s up to us to put their gameplan into action - and luckily, more often than not, we have carried it out pretty well.”

While there's no suggestion Robertson could play on the opposite flank in the absence of Alexander-Arnold - "I played on the right for Scotland once and changed to the left at half-time, so that probably tells you how that went!" he laughs - he will be expected to keep his place ahead of Kostas Tsimikas in defence. And the rollercoaster 3-3 Premier League draw at Newcastle in December is proof of the challenge Liverpool now face.

"That was one of the toughest games we've had in the Premier League this season," says Robertson. "It was end-to-end and when you go to St James's, it's always tough, they always make it a good atmosphere, and that will obviously be an element on Sunday.

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"Our fans are always excellent when they go to Wembley, but I think Newcastle will certainly give them a good match. It should be an incredible atmosphere.

"Newcastle are a high energy team, they're high pressing. We know what to expect from them on Sunday and we have to be ready for that.. We're going to need to be our best to get our hands on the trophy."

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