Liverpool’s Andy Robertson has admitted the team are extra ready to win the Carabao Cup final for their manager, Jurgen Klopp.
The German manager is leaving the club at the end of the season and his players are eager for him to leave Anfield smiling.
Robertson says they can’t get too caught up in the feelings about Klopp leaving but insists it does give the squad a big push to do well.
Liverpool sit top of the Premier League and are in the FA Cup fifth round and Europa League round of 16. That’s as well as facing Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley this weekend as the Reds chase a potential quadruple.
Robertson said: “We know that the manager who has taken this club back to where it belongs is leaving in the summer – and we would like him to go with a big send-off.
“That gives us extra motivation – but we can’t get caught up in the emotion of it all. We have to use it in two ways. We have to park it to one side to a certain extent, while the fans can be emotional.
“But we’ve done that really well since the announcement. We have all got our heads around it now. As players we’ve still got a job to do. Winning at Wembley won’t take the pressure off because when you play for this club there is pressure to win every tournament.
“You feel that from the day you sign, so winning this one won’t stop that. But the League Cup is the first one you can win – and we all want to have a good day out at Wembley.
“Our fans will travel in unbelievable numbers and seeing half of the stadium full of red scarves and flags makes you want to send them back up the road happy. Any cup final is a massive deal for this club.”
Robertson also insists he, and his team-mates, never had any doubt about Liverpool’s midfield rebuild.
The Merseyside club signed Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo, Alexis Mac Allister and Ryan Gravenberch while offloading Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita.
“I don’t think anyone here is surprised,” said left-back Robertson.
“We had belief in the dressing room, when we looked at the new signings and the players we already had, that we had the quality. We just needed to piece it all together.
“And I think we did that pretty quickly at the start of the season. We have been on a roll since then. Yes, we lost a lot of players in the summer, but the new lads have come in and done so well – and injuries have meant we have also had to go with the excitement of the young lads.
“I looked at the lads who came on against Luton, how excited they looked, and it reminded me of when I came on for my debut. You have absolutely no fear and are just happy to be there. But you can use that to your advantage – and that’s exactly what we are going to have to do.
“When you get to February and you’re still in every competition then the season has been a success up to this point. Now we have to keep going.”
