‘For the life of me…’ – Ally McCoist aghast at what Slot has done with one Liverpool player
Ally McCoist has said he ‘can’t understand’ why Arne Slot doesn’t select one particular Liverpool player more frequently.
The only two line-up changes for the Reds from Sunday’s defeat against Manchester City to last night’s win at Sunderland were both at full-back, with Wataru Endo coming in for the suspended Dominik Szoboszlai and, on the other flank, Andy Robertson replacing Milos Kerkez.
It was only a fifth Premier League start of the season for the long-serving Scot, and his first since New Year’s Day, but he played his part in helping the champions to end what had been the one remaining unbeaten record in the English top flight.
McCoist ‘surprised’ that Robertson doesn’t start more often
McCoist was on co-commentary duty for TNT Sports at the Stadium of Light as he made the case for his compatriot to start more regularly.
The pundit said of Robertson (via RTK): “Honestly, I can’t say enough, I’m so surprised he hasn’t played a lot more.
“I understand the manager buys players, brings players in, and you have to give them an opportunity, but for the life of me, that’s the one position I can’t understand why Robertson hasn’t started more.”
Joe Cole concurred with McCoist as he chimed in: “I agree with you. Every time I watch Robertson play, he does a job.”
How did Robertson perform against Sunderland?
Robertson justified his recall to the starting XI last night with a strong performance against Sunderland, as evidenced by his underlying match statistics.
As per Sofascore, he completed 56 of his 63 passes (89% success), made one block, clearance and interception, recorded three key passes and created one ‘big chance’, while Liverpool Echo reporter Ian Doyle awarded him 7/10 in his post-match player ratings.
Prior to kick-off, Slot attributed the decision to start the 31-year-old over Kerkez to the Hungarian needing a rest amid a hectic week involving three matches in seven days, a comment which subtly suggests that the younger left-back could be restored for the Brighton game on Saturday.
| Starts by competition 2025/26 | Milos Kerkez | Andy Robertson |
| Premier League | 21 | 5 |
| Champions League | 3 | 5 |
| FA Cup | 0 | 1 |
| Carabao Cup | 1 | 2 |
| Community Shield | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 26 | 13 |
When the ex-Bournemouth youngster struggled in the early weeks of the season, some pundits had called for him to be dropped in favour of Robertson, but it’s to the 22-year-old’s credit that he’s stuck to the task and noticeably improved as the campaign has progressed.
In stark contrast to the injury issues which have plagued Liverpool elsewhere in defence, Slot has continually had his pick of two reliable left-backs, and Cole is right in saying that the Reds’ number 26 never lets his team down whenever he’s picked.
We don’t know if McCoist will get his wish of seeing his fellow Scot starting more regularly, but the former Hull City man did his case no harm whatsoever at Sunderland last night.
You can watch Slot’s full post-Sunderland press conference below, via Empire of the Kop on YouTube:
The post ‘For the life of me…’ – Ally McCoist aghast at what Slot has done with one Liverpool player appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.