LEICESTER, ENGLAND - Thursday, December 26, 2019: Liverpool's Andy Robertson celebrates after his side's fourth goal during the FA Premier League match between Leicester City FC and Liverpool FC at the King Power Stadium. Liverpool won 4-0. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

Andy Robertson’s end-of-decade challenge shows left-back’s incredible growth

Liverpool’s current squad is full of incredible stories of their rise to the top and Andy Robertson is no different, from Queen’s Park to European and world champion with the Reds.

Robertson has cemented himself as one of, if not, the world’s leading left-back within a Liverpool outfit now consistently challenging for major honours.

And while 2019 sees Liverpool’s No. 26 widely recognised across world football, 10 years ago the then 16-year-old was plying his trade with Queen’s Park, who at the time played in the fourth tier of Scottish football, in their youth ranks after Celtic released him the year prior.

He would do numerous jobs on the side to supplement his income for a number of years, to which his famous tweet in 2012 read: “Life at this age is rubbish with no money #needajob”

He then hit a crossroad, having yet to break into the first team at Queen’s Park he was left with the decision to shift his focus to university studies should he not work his way into the team for the 2012/13 season.

Hull City's Andrew Robertson - Picture by Simon Galloway PA Archive/PA Images

But he did and he would earn a spot with Dundee United the following summer, meaning he could forgo his jobs on the side before a move to the Premier League with Hull awaited in 2014.

A rapid rise which would see him catch the eye of Liverpool, who would land him for a bargain fee of £8 million in 2017 – a signing which was met with widespread scepticism but would soon turn out to be a stroke of genius.

And it is a journey which Robertson has reflected on with a post on Instagram, from a youth player who had recently been turned away by his boyhood club to a Champions League winner and leading Premier League title contender with Liverpool.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6sq6lrB3Uy/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet

It is a remarkable show of what the power of hard work and determination can do, he has had to prove himself with every step he has made and he has done so in emphatic fashion.

As he wrote earlier in the year in a piece for the Players’ Tribune, “No magic wands have been waved in my direction, I didn’t win some kind of lottery to land a spot on one of the biggest clubs in the world.

“The reason why I’m a Liverpool player is the same reason why I’m captain of my country: I’ve worked my bollocks off to get where I am, and by doing that, I’ve been able to make the most of whatever talent I have.

“I’ve never wanted to be a poster boy, but if I’m going to be a poster boy for anything, it should be this – if you don’t give up, and if you carry on believing in yourself when others are doubting you, you can make it. You can show that you are good enough.”

DOHA, QATAR - Saturday, December 21, 2019: Liverpool's Andy Robertson kisss the trophy after the FIFA Club World Cup Qatar 2019 Final match between CR Flamengo and Liverpool FC at the Khalifa Stadium. Liverpool won 1-0 after extra time. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

And Robertson has more than proved he is good enough, as despite a slow start to life at Anfield he has established himself as an integral member of the team and a key component of Liverpool’s creative hub.

He once said “nobody wants the left-back’s shirt,” but he has proven that life as a member of a defensive line can be equally as exhilarating and there is no doubt many now have this certain left-back’s name etched on their jersey.

He’s humble yet confident, with a nice touch of snide to go with it all, and he’s solved the club’s long-standing deficiency on the left.

With 107 appearances to his name for the Reds to date and many more to come, Robertson’s rise is inspiring and it’s an incredible example of how far hard work can take you.