Robertson set to make history but his hero Dalglish will always be King

Robertson set to make history but his hero Dalglish will always be King

Ties bind Scotland captain Andy Robertson and the man whose caps record he's about to equal, Kenny Dalglish, in more ways than one, writes Tom English.

Andy Robertson says it gives him "goosebumps" any time he thinks about it.

Friday at Hampden, North Macedonia the visitors, a 102nd cap to be won and, when it is, he'll be level in the pantheon with Kenny Dalglish, the football man he loves more than any other.

On Monday in St Gallen, Switzerland - all being well - Robertson will break the great man's record, a mark that has stood for 40 years.

The Tottenham left-back is sitting in the boardroom at Queen's Park in the shadow of Hampden with a phone in his hand and eyes fixed on his 19-year-old self coming off the bench in Warsaw on 5 March, 2014.

"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.

In brief

Andy Robertson says it gives him "goosebumps" any time he thinks about it. "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.

This is the opening of the story, shared with credit to BBC Sport. The rest of the report — with every detail — continues on the publisher’s website.

Continue reading at BBC Sport ↗

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