Andy Robertson Nears Dalglish’s 102 Caps but Insists Kenny Remains Scotland’s Greatest

• Andy Robertson, 32, is set to win his 102nd Scotland cap against North Macedonia at Hampden on Friday, level with Sir Kenny Dalglish, per BBC Sport.
• Robertson can pass the record, which has stood for 40 years, against Switzerland in St Gallen on Monday if he plays.
• Scotland’s captain says Friday belongs to Dalglish and not to him.

A Captain Who Keeps Handing the Spotlight to His Hero

The room at Queen’s Park, in the shadow of Hampden, held a dozen normal chairs and, off to one side, one high-backed, ornate seat that looks fit for a king. Robertson, about to draw level with Dalglish, has a view on who deserves it.

“There are normal seats but there’s one throne and Kenny Dalglish should be sat on it,” he says. “Friday night’s not about me. Friday night’s about the greatest player of all time in our country, and for me, that will always be Kenny.”

Robertson says it gives him “goosebumps” any time he thinks about it. Kick-off against North Macedonia is 7.45pm. Dalglish won his 102nd and final cap 40 years ago in a 3-0 win over Luxembourg at Hampden, and he is 75 now. Robertson says the number is where the comparison ends: he will be above Dalglish in caps only.

From a Run in Warsaw to a Confession of Doubt

Robertson’s first cap came off the bench in Warsaw on 5 March 2014, when he was 19. Sitting in the Queen’s Park boardroom with a phone in his hand, eyes fixed on that 19-year-old self, he talked through the moment.

“Nervous, excited, living the dream, not knowing what road I was on,” he smiles as he looks at the moment he takes his first touch in international football.

“As I was going on, Gordon [Strachan, Scotland manager] said to me, ‘remember why you’re here, play like you play at Dundee United, don’t play safe’. The first ball, when it came to me, I just drove forward about 30, 40 yards.”

“I had pretty much every emotion that day. My mum and dad were there. My brother. My aunt and uncle. My other uncle. There’s a picture of me and my brother [Stephen] at the airport after the game. He had a big Poland hat on and a half-and-half scarf. He was well oiled by that point.”

Along the way he has collected two Premier Leagues, two League Cups, an FA Cup, a Champions League, a Super Cup and a Club World Cup, and he has captained Scotland at three major tournaments. He says he would have laughed out loud had anyone told him back then.

“I’ve never actually been confident,” he says. Then he explains.

“I’ve always doubted myself and that’s always got the best out of me. I’ve always tried to prove people wrong and prove myself wrong. The one thing I didn’t do was look too far ahead. I always just lived in the here and now and that’s served me well.”

The Man Who Walked Into the Room

Robertson, now a Tottenham left-back, joined Liverpool from Hull City in 2017 for £8m, with his wife Rachel expecting their first child. His time at Anfield brought him close to Dalglish and his family.

“I always remember my agent talking to me about the first time he met Liverpool,” Robertson says of a time when he was still with Hull but about to move to Anfield.

“He met the chief scout and sporting director and all of a sudden Kenny ‘accidentally’ walked into the room. It was 100% planned, I know it was planned.”

“One of the things right at the top of the list for me was the fact [by joining Liverpool] I got to meet Kenny in person and I’ve actually got to have a relationship with him and his family, because his family are special.”

“My dad, in particular, has met people in football through me, but I’ve never seen him being starstruck by anyone apart from Kenny.”

The best story involves his grandfather, after Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0 in 2019.

“I always remember, we’d just beaten Barcelona 4-0 [in May, 2019] to qualify for my second Champions League final. My grandad was at the game and I managed to grab Kenny afterwards. I says, ‘Kenny, would you mind coming in to see my grandad and my uncle? They would love to see you’.”

“Bear in mind his grandson’s just qualified for another Champions League final and he basically barged me out of the way and shook Kenny’s hand.”

“My grandad had hearing aids. He couldn’t really hear much of us but he heard everything Kenny said, so it did open a lot of questions in the family as to how bad the ear problem was with my grandad. He’s no longer with us but to see how happy he was… Kenny was his hero.”

Dalglish was among the first to get in touch when Robertson became captain.

“I always remember when I got the captaincy, he was one of the first to text me and say ‘I know I’ve been out the game a little bit, but if you need help I can be that person’ and to have someone like that to bounce anything off and rely on [is great].”

“Him and his family have been such a massive help to my family, especially in my time at Liverpool, and I’ve got no doubt there will be a couple of texts that’ll be exchanged.”

“We’ve had a lot of jokes [about beating his record], but I know deep down how proud he is of me and how happy he is for me as well.”

What the Record Means to Him

Asked about matching the 75-year-old’s mark, Robertson answered with a plea to remember what Dalglish gave Scotland.

“In terms of number, I’ll stand side by side by him but I don’t want to forget and I don’t want people to forget how important this man has been for our country.”

“He’s had this record for so long. He deserves it. If he played in a different era, he would probably have played a number of games that wouldn’t have been able to be caught.”

“Sometimes – not as a criticism – as a country we’re maybe not good at recognising how good people we’ve got are. For me, he’s the best player to ever play with Scotland and arguably Britain.”

“We have to appreciate that man because I certainly do, my family certainly do and, I think on Friday, I’ll have him at the front of my mind, the back of my mind and I’m not really bothered about myself.”

“For me, he was arguably the best player in the world at his time and he’ll always be the greatest in this country, no matter what happens in the future.”

“He’ll always be the first one to do X, Y and Z and that shouldn’t be forgotten.”

“We’re not always the best at maybe remembering these great people and I think tomorrow is definitely a reason to do that for Kenny.”

“Unbelievably proud, but tomorrow’s not really about me, it’s about him in my opinion, for how long the record stood for starters, for what he achieved in his career, for the person he is.”

“For me, he’ll always be the greatest of this country because of what he did, how he did it and also the man he’s become.”

“We’ve had so many great players for Scotland, but for me Kenny will always stand on top and I don’t think that will change.”

The Match Scotland Need

The squad wants the points as much as the occasion. Scotland have won one of four games under head coach Sebastien Pocognoli, whose first home game in charge is behind him. Robertson says Scotland were a yard off it in all areas last time out against Slovenia.

“Unacceptable,” he recalled. “We didn’t give our fans anything to shout about.”

Robertson has already reached his 100th cap, and two games remain to take him past Dalglish. Hampden hosts the first on Friday. St Gallen hosts the second on Monday, the final Nations League game. He left the interview with fighting words about the desire in the squad to make amends, then came back for his washbag.

“Forgot my washbag,” he laughed. “Bet Kenny didn’t have one of these!”