A WEEK after Andy Robertson had helped Liverpool to overcome their English rivals Spurs in the Champions League final in Madrid back in 2019, he played for Scotland in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Cyprus at Hampden.

Robertson could have been excused if he had turned in a below par performance in the Group I match given his considerable exertions in the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium just seven days earlier. He had been left physically and emotionally drained by the achievement.

However, the left back had clearly been buoyed by the Anfield club being crowned champions of Europe for the sixth time in front of tens of thousands of their fans; he produced an outstanding display, opening the scoring with a sublime 25 yard strike and then captained his country to a 2-1 victory.

The 27-year-old knows that picking up a Champions League winners’ medal after Chelsea’s narrow 1-0 triumph over Manchester City in this year’s final in Porto on Saturday will have a similar energising effect on Billy Gilmour even though his compatriot didn’t play.       

And he believes that can only help Scotland, who take on the Netherlands in a pre-Euro 2020 friendly in Portugal this evening, as they build towards their opening Group D match against the Czech Republic on June 14.

“I don’t know Billy too well,” said Robertson. “But I have spoken to him a couple of times and the wee man seems very hungry to achieve everything he can whether it’s personally, collectively or whatever. 

“To be able to get a Champions League winners’ medal so early is incredible, but I don’t believe that will be him finished. I think he will be hungry for more now. 

“He had a taste for success and for me and for all the Liverpool lads it drove us forward the next season to go and win the Premier League. We are even more hungry now to win more trophies. 

“When you get that feeling, when you get the night out that follows, the celebrations with your family and your fans I think that makes you hungry for more and I’m sure Billy will be the exact same. I hope he is on top of the world.

“He has a huge career ahead of him and it has already started so well having a Champions League winners’ medal so early on. But I have no doubt that he will stay humble, hungry and go on to achieve a lot more in this game.” 

Robertson continued: “We have always had winners with the Celtic boys and Rangers boys. They have come in after showing they are able to win trophies in Scotland. But we have people who have shown they can win down south as well. 

“Unfortunately for Scott (McTominay), they just fell short in the Europa League, but Billy won something. And in other big games we’ve got guys like (John) McGinn scoring winners in play-off finals, people getting promoted. It’s all that feeling of achieving something and the more winners you have in your group the better. 

“We have a few racking up and hopefully more to come. There are a lot of young players who are showing a lot of promise and looking to win more and more trophies. Obviously the older boys are still hungry for success as well. 

“The more you win at club level the more you bring a winning mentality into the international team and I think we are seeing the benefits of so many players playing at a really high level and competing for really big trophies.”

Gilmour is uncapped at full international level and it was unclear if Steve Clarke was going to select the 19-year-old in his 26 man squad for the Euro 2020 finals last month despite his assured showings for Chelsea this term.

However, Robertson, who made his debut for Scotland when he was the same age, feels the youngster and his contemporaries Nathan Patterson and David Turnbull have a huge amount to contribute. He has been impressed with the Rangers right back and Celtic playmaker during the training camp in Spain in the last six days. 

“Both of them have been excellent, really good off the park as well as on it,” he said. “If you walked into the camp you would think they had been here for years. They have slotted in really well.

“David has obviously got the Celtic boys to fall back on and maybe ease his way in, but he has been talking to the other lads and joining in. Nathan is a confident lad. He has been getting to know the boys and we have been getting to know him. Both of them have settled in really well.

“And in training they have both been excellent. It has been really good, really positive. Let’s see if they get game time tomorrow. Both of them are fantastic players and have got huge careers ahead of them as well.

“But at the age they are at and the clubs they are playing for they are doing not so bad just now. You can tell that. Both of them are playing full of confidence with no fear and that is exactly what we need in this squad.

“Billy is a fantastic footballer. You can tell he plays with confidence on the park. He is similar to the other two in that he has no fear. He can take the ball in tight situations. These are the players you want to have in the squad.”

McTominay was left devastated when Manchester United were beaten 11-10 on penalties by Villarreal in the Europa League final in Gdansk last week. But Robertson felt the Scotland midfielder was the outstanding performer in Poland. He expects him to be a key player for Scotland at the Euro 2020 finals in his favoured position.

“Scotty has not had the week he would have wanted,” he said. “He obviously would have loved to have won the Europa League. But he will be ready to go. I thought he was the best player on the park in the Europa League final. If he brings that play into the Scotland top then I am sure he will put in other Man of the Match performances.”