Andy Robertson was just 15 when he was let go by his boyhood club, Celtic.
At the time, Gordon Strachan was in charge of Celtic, as their paths would cross again, because it was that very same individual who handed Robertson his Scotland debut in 2014 against Nigeria.
Robertson would go on to greatness, including lifting two Premier League titles and a Champions League with Liverpool, as he reflected on his career with Ian Wright.
The Scotland captain sat down with Wright, as well as Strachan, for the Overlap, as the first port of discussion was Robertson being let go by the Hoops.
Wright: “We were talking about how you (Strachan) gave him his opportunity with Scotland. You left Celtic before they released him.”
Strachan: “It wasn’t my fault. I can take the blame for a few things, but not that.”
Wright: “Did you know that he was in there at that stage?”
Strachan: “No idea who he was.”
Robertson: “I would have been too young, wouldn’t I?! I was 15 when I was let go, so I don’t think that’s on the radar for the first team manager at that time.”
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Gordon Strachan jokes he takes ‘blame’ for Bratislava, but not Andy Robertson’s Celtic release
Celtic losing Champions League qualifiers, where have we seen that before? While it’s still a problem now, it hit Strachan right in the face when he first joined in 2005.
In one of the worst starts in the club’s history, Celtic were beaten 5-0 by Slovakian minnows Artmedia Bratislava.
While Strachan turned it around at Parkhead, that was brought up by the no-nonsense coach when discussing how Robertson’s release came about.
Of course, as a young teenager, there is no way that Strachan is going to know who Robertson was at the time, as he rightfully pointed out.
In the end, it all worked out for Robertson, and he reminisced about those days with his former manager.
Wright: “We were talking about how you (Strachan) gave him his opportunity with Scotland. You left Celtic before they released him.”
Strachan: “It wasn’t my fault. I can take the blame for a few things, but not that.”
Wright: “Did you know that he was in there at that stage?”
Strachan: “No idea who he was.”
Robertson: “I would have been too young, wouldn’t I?! I was 15 when I was let go, so I don’t think that’s on the radar for the first team manager at that time.”
Strachan: “No, no. There were plenty of things going on there. Slovan Bratislava, I will take my blame for that.”
Robertson: “I was in the stands for that game.”
Strachan: “Getting beat by Clyde. I will take my blame for that.”
Wright: “When they let him go, would you have been surprised by that?”
Strachan: “No, Andy was an unknown quantity to me when I first saw him. I first saw Andy playing for Dundee United at Partick Thistle, the first game of the season. Was it a Friday night?”
Robertson: “A Friday night, yeah.”
Strachan: “I was doing the punditry that night. I remember watching the game; it wasn’t a great game.
“Every time it went to Andy, because the game was kind of pedestrian, it kind of changed. Just the dynamics of the game changed. I thought, ‘he is interesting, that fella.’
“Looked about, wondered who he was; I couldn’t see it. He came from nowhere. It was Queen’s Park that Andy had been to before; it was a good grounding.
“That was the initial. Kept an eye on him, then got the Scotland gig.”
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