Born: Glasgow - 11/03/1994 (Age 20)
Andrew Robertson has made huge strides in his career in a
short space of time. That’s despite suffering a huge knock back at the age of
15 when he was released by Celtic “for being too small”. A lot of players are
released by football clubs between the ages of 15 and 17 and most disappear
from the game as a result.
Robertson didn’t. He had huge amounts of determination and
he chose a sensible career path opting to join Queens Park. Queens were in Scotland’s
bottom division – a footballing graveyard.
It wasn’t just about choices and determination. Lots of
players drop down the leagues after being released and give it their all to get
back up again. Indeed, Celtic release a lot of young players, some of whom go on
to forge decent careers, but they rarely drop a bollock so spectacularly as
with Robertson.
For what Robertson had in abundance was talent. He stood
out at every level. Queens were forced to play him in the first team at 18
because he was too good to leave out. Then Dundee United spotted him and knew
they had to have him. Queens were desperate to hold on to him arguing that at
19 he’d be better off playing 30-40 games in Scottish League Two than stagnating at the higher level. It’s a
view that isn’t unreasonable given the amount of young players rotting in the
background at top clubs these days.
However Robertson had the courage to take on the move to
Dundee United and that was no doubt encouraged by manager Jackie McNamara who
made it clear from the beginning that he felt Robertson would challenge for a
first team place. That proved to be correct and Robertson was near ever-present
in the United team that finished fourth in the Premiership.
He owes a lot to Dundee United and particularly to Jackie
McNamara – a point he is quick to recognise with his usual good grace. They
took a chance on a young player plying his trade at a low level and gave him
the opportunity and the support that has led to his meteoric rise. He was
Scotland’s Young player of the month in September and three Scotland U21 caps soon
followed. Before the season’s end he’d picked up a Player of the month award,
the young player of the year honour and two full caps for the Scots against
Poland and Nigeria.
Like Hull City, Robertson’s 2013/14 season ended with
defeat in the Cup Final. A result he took with the maturity he’s become known
for “The disappointment hasn’t gone away yet and I don’t think it will until
next season when we’re all together again. The Saturday night of the Cup Final
was awful. It was the quietest team bus I’ve ever been on and the quietest
changing room I’ve ever been in. It’s tough to reflect on it because no one had
any complaints. St Johnstone were the better team.”
In making a £2m+ transfer to Hull City – Robertson would have to
step up another level. The Premier League in England is a much brighter stage
than the Scottish Premiership. Even when
you are talking about a player who has taken huge leaps in his career in the
last two years from the stiffs of a footballing graveyard to one of Scotland’s
biggest clubs and onto international football – it is a big ask for a 20 year
old to establish himself in one of the world’s most competitive leagues.
Would anyone bet against it?
What they say:
Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara on Robertson’s
Scotland call-up: “This is brilliant news for him and for the club. Andy is
still a teenager but he has already been through a lot in his career and
deserves to be where he is now. It is great credit to him and his family that
he has gone from being told by Celtic that they didn’t want him, on to amateur
football with Queen’s Park, signed for us and now he is in the Scotland squad.”
Scotland boss Gordon Strachan on Robertson’s Scotland
debut: “Andy came on there and the first time he picked it up he drove about 30
yards. I thought: ‘that’s fantastic’. Absolutely no grey area, I’m going to do
what I do. I loved seeing that first touch.”
Ex-West Ham left back Ray Stewart: “The first time I saw him I said to myself ‘That laddie’s got something’. He missed only one tackle and I was impressed with his overall play. He had a great season with [Dundee] United last season and is a superb prospect.”
SFA Performance Director Mark Wotte: “What a great success story, a great dream and a great role model for a lot of kids who might not be good enough at 14 but bounce back. The development of kids goes in stages. He is a great example of a late developer. Jordan Rhodes only came to our attention at 20. He never played for the under-19s or under-17s.”
Andrew Robertson: “I was let go by Celtic at under-15 level for being too small. That was the reason they gave me anyway. I went to Queen’s Park and people might have thought that was a strange decision to go from Celtic to there. I guess it is a step down. However, Queen’s Park have a great youth set-up and they did make me the player I am today. Luckily, I burst into the first team there and now I am here. Being told that by Celtic did make me all the more determined to succeed in the game.”
