Scotland captain Andy Robertson has voiced his opinion that the players of Manchester City should not be held responsible for the club's alleged breaches of financial regulations, which have recently resulted in a bombshell verdict. The charges, numbering 115, have loomed over the club for several years.
Robertson, who has had numerous intense encounters with City players during his time at Liverpool, including two Premier League title races where Liverpool finished as runners-up, stated that he holds no grudges against the players he faced on the pitch. He expressed surprise at the news but emphasized that the City players proved their quality on the field. "I don’t think when it comes to these things that players are ever to blame. That’s all I can focus on," Robertson said.
This period also marks a new chapter for the Scotland national team, with Sebastien Pocognoli taking the helm for the first time. Robertson shared that the 39-year-old Belgian met with him personally in London after his appointment. The captain is optimistic about the team's future under the new coach, while also acknowledging the significant achievements of his predecessor, Steve Clarke. Clarke resigned after Scotland's exit from the World Cup in the summer, following similar group stage departures from Euro 2020 and Euro 2024.
"We haven’t had a lot of time on the pitch. He’s given us good information without overloading us," Robertson commented on the transition. "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 stressed the importance of balancing excitement for the future with respect for the past. "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 stated. "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."
He concluded, "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."