Robertson on hair-raising moment he believed Liverpool had won Premier League

Andy Robertson admits he “gets shivers” when he recalls the moment he knew Liverpool had won the Premier League – which came after a 2-0 win over arch-rivals Manchester United.

Goals from Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah guided the Reds to a 16-point buffer ahead of their nearest challengers and sent Anfield into frenzy in January.

Heading into the North-West derby, however, Robertson was apprehensive about getting carried away and felt it was “too early” to be making assumptions about the title race.

“I was in the canteen a couple of days beforehand and a few of us were talking about what the atmosphere was going to be like,” Robertson recalled in his book ‘Robbo: Now You’re Gunna Believe Us’, available here.

“I shouted over to (head of club and supporter engagement) Tony Barrett to see what he thought and he said if we won it would definitely be the day when ‘And Now You’re Gonna Believe Us’ erupted at Anfield.

“I didn’t like that. ‘It’s too early for that,’ I said. ‘They need to wait until it’s almost in the bag. That’s the time, not mid-January’.

“I got the enthusiasm and, if I was a fan, my mindset would have been exactly the same. But as a player, all I could focus on was the need to keep things ticking over without getting too excited.

“I also knew that, in some quarters, the song could be used as a stick to beat the club with the moment we suffered any kind of setback.

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“As it had happened previously and I didn’t want it to happen again.”

Robertson was acutely aware United were out to spoil Liverpool’s party and end their unbeaten run, so he could not help but join in with the chants after the win over the Red Devils was secured.

The Scotland captain added: “On top of that I knew United would like nothing better than to derail us, so I was determined not to get caught up in the expectation that was growing on a daily basis.

“Games against United are always tough and this one had been no different but in the seconds after that goal went in, it felt like there was a surge of electricity going around the ground.

“Then, it started. ‘And now you’re gonna believe us. And now you’re gonna believe us. And now you’re gonna believe us – we’re gonna win the league’.

“Over and over again, louder and louder, a chant suddenly became a declaration.

“This wasn’t hope, it wasn’t even a statement of intent, this was the Anfield crowd telling everyone who was willing to listen and plenty more besides that their team was going to be champions.

“I have to confess, though, that for a split second after it started I just thought, ‘Please don’t’.

“But then the hairs on the back of my neck stood up and immediately I understood.

“Two seconds later, I was joining in. The emotions that this one song stirred are indescribable.”

Robertson believes the occasion had great significance in convincing Liverpool players – including himself – they would win the league and end a 30-year barren run.

“It felt like an approval from the fans and a sign of good times to come,” the 26-year-old said. “That day they wanted to sing that song to their rivals.

“The way it made me feel, the shockwaves it sent through my body when they started singing it, I thought then that we would go on and do it.

“I still get shivers thinking about that.

“That was the moment when we thought: We aren’t letting these people down.

”At that point, I think I went from thinking we could become champions to believing we would become champions.

“Of course, we couldn’t come out and say it and none of us would, but there’s no question that everything felt right.

“There was a definite shift and in hindsight it had probably been building for a bit before the United game, I just hadn’t been ready to acknowledge what the supporters already knew.

Robbo: Now You’re Gonna Believe Us is on sale Thursday September 17 from reachsportshop.com for 25% off. ebook also available, audiobook coming soon.

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