IN the palatial surroundings of the St Regis hotel in Doha, Andy Robertson is reflecting on a regal 2019 at club level.
It is 24 hours before Liverpool take on Monterrey in this evening's Club World Cup semi-final and the Scotland captain is speculating on Liverpool's status as potential global champions.
It comes as something of a jolt, therefore, to hear Robertson waxing lyrical about the impact of John Rankin and Paul Paton on his career.
READ MORE: Andy Robertson: Time for my Scotland pals to join me among world elite
Yet the pair, itinerant midfielders who crossed paths briefly with Robertson at Dundee United, serve as totems for the manner in which the Liverpool left-back has broken through, prospered and endured as a professional footballer.
The identities of those he listens to now may have changed – for more prosaic former team-mates one might substitute the names of current sublime ones such as Virgil Van Dijk and Mo Salah – but Robertson's tried-and-trusted process remains the same.
“I have approached every game in the last six years in the same way. I don't change that,” he says.
“It's helped me to adapt to being at Liverpool. I've not had to change the way I prepare for games, change the way I get ready. It's just been a continuing process but, obviously, in slightly bigger games.
“If I struggle against someone or with something then I’ll look at it and try and improve it. I’ve got world-class players around me and if they tell me something, or the manager tells me something, I’ll take it on board.
“I’ve always been like that and at Dundee United the likes of John Rankin was massive for me because he effectively talked me through games in my first three months.
“Maybe he didn’t get the credit he deserved but I certainly appreciated his advice when I was young and I am the player I am now because of people like John.
“Some young lads nowadays can think the old boys are on their case and shy away from it but I wanted John Rankin and Paul Paton to tell me my negatives because that got the best out of me.”
Listening to good advice is why Robertson now lists Champions League winner on his personal roll of honour and these days he cites James Milner as his personal confidante.
By the end of this week he intends to have added the title of Club World Cup winner and, by season's end, Premier League winner.
His is a story of application, dedication and perspiration and of never forgetting the sacrifice he has made and why has made it.
“All of my family's happiest occasions in the last five or six years have been coming to watch me," he adds.
"They all have big days out at Scotland games, Champions League finals and I'm the one playing in a high-pressured match. Maybe a day later they are talking about it all and I'm stuck in my bed sleeping. But these are the things I want. For me that's the happiness that I can get from it.”
The next step in Robertson's evolution towards superstar status comes this evening as Liverpool seek to set up a title fight against Copa Libertadores champions Flamengo to decide the undisputed best in the world.
Winning would be the first step in a memorable season in which Jurgen Klopp's side are well on their way to ending a 29-year wait for a domestic league title and would represent a significant personal milestone for Robertson as the third Scot, after Scott Booth and Darren Fletcher, to lift the trophy.
“That is the aim for all of us,” he adds.
“It’s been an incredible year: the incredible points in the Premier League in the calendar year, the Champions League and everything that went along with that, it would great to add another trophy that will be the same over the next two games.
“We want to make history for this club because we have never won it. We are desperate to do it. The incentive of being the third Scot to win it is there. We know how big this is and what it represents. Hopefully we can get our hands on the trophy.”
Since his arrival in Qatar, Robertson has allowed himself to gaze into the future, and specifically, towards World Cup 2022; he says he is excited about the prospect, even if Education City, where tonight's match was originally scheduled to be played is still not ready to host matches.
READ MORE: Stewart Fisher: Here's to Josh Taylor, Andy Robertson and Laura Muir: The Scots the BBC left behind
“A lot has been made of the fact that the stadium we were meant to be playing in is not ready yet but they still have three years so they are on schedule. Everything for us so far has been excellent. They are all new-build stadiums so everything will be fantastic come 2022.
“We want to be here for the World Cup – that's got to be our aim and I know all the lads are determined to do it. It's not been the most positive of years in terms of the national team but I feel as if we have ended on a high, we've ended it postively.
"It's now about carrying it into the following year which hopefully takes us to a major tournament.”
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