Andy Robertson Defends Manchester City Players Amidst Financial Regulation Verdict

Scotland captain Andy Robertson has stated that it would be inappropriate to tarnish Manchester City's players due to the recent verdict regarding the club's breach of financial regulations. The club has been found guilty of nearly all of the 115 charges that have been pending for several years.

Robertson, who frequently competed against Manchester City during his nine years as a Liverpool player, noted that he holds no grudges against the players he faced on the field, despite intense battles. "I think you can hear the shock in my voice," Robertson commented, ahead of Scotland's Nations League clash against Slovenia. "The case has obviously been going on. For me, the [Man City] players showed they were good enough on the pitch."

He added, "I don’t know too much about the charges. But they had an incredible team, one that I loved battling against. I don’t think when it comes to these things that players are ever to blame. That’s all I can focus on."

Separately, Robertson discussed the new era for the Scotland team under head coach Sebastien Pocognoli. Pocognoli met with Robertson personally in London after his appointment. The captain expressed excitement for the future under the new manager, while also acknowledging the achievements of his predecessor, Steve Clarke, who resigned after Scotland's group stage exits from the World Cup, Euro 2020, and Euro 2024.

"Time will tell if it will look different," Robertson said of the new management. "We haven’t had a lot of time on the pitch. He’s given us good information without overloading us. It’s been a really good training week. We’ve enjoyed it and hopefully that we can take that into this game against Slovenia."

Robertson encouraged a balanced perspective on the team's past and future. "You can be excited for the future but respect the past. Some people have been caught in two minds on that. In my opinion, the time under Steve Clarke was a hugely successful one. He came in and his remit was to qualify for tournaments. For him to do three out of four, that’s nothing but success."

He continued, "We can talk about how we performed at the tournaments but as a team and as a country we managed to get back on the biggest stage. That has to be a positive. Now, we can be excited for the future under this manager. It will maybe be a different way of playing, a different style, younger players coming in. So you can do both. That would be my message to everyone. You can still appreciate what we had in the past and what we achieved. But we can also be excited for the future. That’s been my message to the players and I think they can feel that. Hopefully we can push to reach new heights."