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Feb 14

Andy Robertson Q&A | Winter break, fitness latest, clean sheets and free-kicks – Liverpool FC

Fitness Comments Off on Andy Robertson Q&A | Winter break, fitness latest, clean sheets and free-kicks – Liverpool FC

Andy Robertson believes he and his Liverpool teammates can use the mid-season break for maximum benefit as they prepare to attack the final third of the season.

The Reds resume their Premier League title quest at Norwich City on Saturday having established a 22-point advantage at the summit before the pause in action.

It was a timely hiatus for Robertson, who was able to nurse a niggling foot injury, while Sadio Mane and James Milner recuperated sufficiently to return to training this week and further bolster Jrgen Klopps options.

Ahead of the trip to Carrow Road we caught up with the left-back to discuss the winter break, his fitness, Liverpools outstanding recent defensive solidity and the importance of competitiveness in the squad...

Firstly, how was your break?

It was nice. It was nice to spend some time with the family and switch off from a hectic schedule and football for a wee bit and come back refreshed. Hopefully people see that in the performances that the team put in because we look as if we have come back refreshed, like I said, and maybe cleared up any injuries we might have had.

Did you manage to properly switch off, because it has been such a busy couple of seasons since you broke into the team?

I managed to get away and try to switch off from football and spend some family time. It has been a hectic couple of seasons; obviously in the summer you can switch off but its nice during the season to get that week off where you just dont need to worry about anything. Of course, we still had to stay on top of ourselves and we had [individual training] programmes for ourselves. But I get itchy feet anyway just sitting about all day so I was quite happy to do it. For a week off, it was all worth it.

The proof will obviously come in the results that follow, but after your first experience of it, do you see this mid-season break as a positive?

Hopefully, yes. For a few of us, definitely people were maybe playing with knocks or injuries and it has given them a whole week to kind of clear them up. I know mine feels better, I feel closer to 100 per cent in terms of my body, which is always a positive. Being in training pain-free is always a nice thing, which maybe hasnt happened in a couple of weeks leading up to that. To clear up any of that is a positive, for a week to just let your body recover. Hopefully we now have a strong finish to the season and we can see that the week was beneficial, and hopefully the results follow. But even if the worst-case scenario [with results], in terms of injuries it has managed to get some lads back fit, which is so important for us.

Was it a good time for you to have a rest? Since the beginning of last season, youve started 60 of the 63 league games and 17 of the 19 Champions League games

To be honest, my body felt fine. I didnt feel tired and it wasnt tiredness. It was more the pain I was playing in at times; I pulled out of the Scotland squad in November with an injury and it probably continued on, then I took another knock on it and it probably got worse. A lot of us play through pain at times, thats part and parcel of being a footballer. You need to be out there on a Saturday if you can. Where theres a will theres a way. A lot of us have showed that at times.

Last time out in the league: Liverpool 4-0 Southampton

For me, it was on my left foot, which is never the best. If it was on my right foot it probably wouldnt even have been an injury. Being on your strong foot, its tough when youre passing the ball and its sending pain up your leg. Its hopefully a thing of the past, theres been time to clear that up. I dont feel I needed a rest physically, I felt as if I could still run for 90 minutes and do it at a good level. Those stats, Im happy with them. I like to play games, I get paid to play games and it probably shows Ive been doing a couple of things right if Ive played that many games! Im happy with the amount of games Ive played and hopefully that continues for the next two seasons and so on. But when you get a week off youve got to take it.

How much of a boost was it to see Sadio Mane and James Milner back in training this week?

Thats another positive. We knew if we could get there [to the winter break] the lads then effectively had two weeks until the next game to try to get back fit. Sadio and Millie managed to do that. They are both naturally quick healers and they have shown that once again. Both of them were a big loss, of course the team havent shown it in terms of the results and performances weve had but to have those two as options is incredible and just makes our squad stronger again. Its great to have everyone back fit near enough, I think theres only maybe a couple still out. To have near enough a full squad, hopefully that continues until the end of the season. It gives us so many options and gives the manager a slight headache but Im sure its a good headache to have.

We saw you watching the free-kick competition at the end of training on Monday. Was that a good example of the mentality in the squad? Theres a friendly-natured competitiveness

Inside Training: Free-kick competition as Reds return to Melwood

The table tennis competitions are where its going to get most heated! Its always been friendly [among the squad] but the lads want to compete against each other and that short clip showed it with Hendo, Virg and Trent. I think the lads have been giving Trent a wee bit [of stick] about his last couple of free-kicks so they wanted to show him differently. To be fair, both of them stepped up to the plate and Trent crumbled under the pressure! But thats pressure in training and when it comes into a high-pressure situation in a game all three of them will probably be better for it. Hopefully one of them can put one of them in soon and you can see that practice makes perfect.

Trent will want to put his next one in a game into the top corner now

Of course. And I guarantee hell be looking straight to Hendo and Virgil when he does it! I hope that happens. Hes got fantastic technique and hopefully it happens to prove those two wrong, as such. It helps him because its hard to create a game-like situation in training, in terms of the pressure, but to have your two mates in your ear, its the best way to show them. Hopefully we see that practice making perfect and at least one of them can put one in before the end of the season.

At the other end, youve only conceded once in the last 10 Premier League matches. Has anything changed? Conceding goals was something that was irritating the defenders earlier in the season

When you look back, some of the goals we conceded were lucky or individual errors and some of them were good goals sometimes you need to accept when a good goal goes in against you. But it was something pecking at us a bit; we were winning games but the lads wanted to get back to clean sheets. I dont think anything has changed. But when we have gone 1-0 up we have been so good at shutting the other team out and not giving them sniffs. The lads have been playing excellently, Virg and Joe have been different class over the last 10 games. And Alisson when called upon has made the saves we need him to save. Were all playing well defensively and were all trying to keep clean sheets. One goal in the last 10 games is an incredible stat and hopefully we continue that because if we keep clean sheets we dont get beat. Its as simple as that. Thats a good basis to go off. The lads have the confidence that when we do go 1-0 up we arent going to concede. But its all about showing that and hopefully that continues.

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Andy Robertson Q&A | Winter break, fitness latest, clean sheets and free-kicks - Liverpool FC

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