Andy Robertson talks the FA Cup & James Milner

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1:25Andy Robertson:Hello, I'm Nahyan Chaudhary and you're listening to a special episode of Football Daily. Today I got the chance to speak to Liverpool defender Andy Robertson, ahead of their FA Cup tie against Wolves. Right Andy, thank you for taking time out your day to sit down and speak with us. Obviously we're heading towards the business end of the season, fixtures are coming thick and fast and an FA Cup tie looms. have won the FA Cup in 2022. What does this competition mean to you?

1:53Nahyan Chowdhury:Yeah, it means a lot. I think it's, you know, obviously the oldest cup competition standing. It means a lot to the people of the FA Cup and that means then it means a lot to the players. So, yeah, I think obviously a lot gets said about the FA Cup now, you know, maybe in the first couple of rounds teams are resting players and things, whereas maybe back in the day it was like, you know, the biggest cup competition ever. but it's still as important as ever in our eyes. It's still a chance to go to Wembley, it's still a chance to go and give your fans a big day out, it's still a chance to go and win a trophy.

2:30Nahyan Chowdhury:Obviously, I've won it once and it was a fantastic day. Even the semi-final against Man City was great and then obviously the final was amazing, being able to win it and win it on penalties and things like that. That will be one of my favourite days as a Liverpool player. so I think you want to always then recreate the moments and we're still in it. We've got the last 16 and this is, like you said, the business end of it now and we've got a chance to try and get through to the last eight.

3:02Andy Robertson:What emotions were going through your head, obviously, when Kostas lined up to take that winning penalty? At the time it was only the major trophy that you hadn't won at the time so what were the emotions going through your head?

3:12Nahyan Chowdhury:Yeah, it was the only one that we hadn't won and we wanted to kind of tick that one off. we wanted to get that, you know, we wanted to secure that one and obviously when it goes to penalties it's a kind of lottery. I think we've done more than enough in the game to win it. We had a couple of big chances and obviously we didn't quite take them. Then when it goes to penalties you always think it can go one way or another and yeah, when Kosti stepped up it was just relief I think. It was relief that we'd went and won it and obviously we'd beat Chelsea just in penalties in the Carabao Cup the same season and yeah it was just it was just an amazing day and to win on penalties is when you win on penalties there's no better feeling when you lose there's probably no worse feeling but thankfully we were on the right end you know that day.

3:56Nahyan Chowdhury:And if you're still on the pitch what do you reckon would you have taken a penalty? I don't think I would have been in the first five I think you know back then we had some amazing penalty takers we were always confident you know the first five penalty takers were pretty much set and then after that it was anyone so I think I would have probably been around cost Asi's penalty so I'm glad it was him instead of me.

4:17Andy Robertson:What memories do you have of the FA Cup growing up in Scotland? Did you watch the FA Cup when you were younger?

4:21Nahyan Chowdhury:Not too much, I think I always kind of give similar answers when I was in Scotland I watched Scottish football and I loved watching Scottish football and I didn't go too far away from that, obviously I watched Champions League and things like that and I watched obviously English games but I couldn't specifically point to you whether it because usually FA Cup weekend was Scottish Cup final weekend and it was always the same and you know obviously I hoped that my team was in the Scottish Cup final and I was probably having a day out with my family then so to be honest the Scottish Cup final always kind of took priority in our household as you can probably imagine being from Scotland but then when you came down here obviously I signed with Hull the season after they'd got to the final and things like that and I know how important it was for the club.

5:01Nahyan Chowdhury:Obviously, they went 2-0 up and Arsenal beat them to it. But, you know, when I went to Hull, then it became, you know, obviously that was what kind of got them into Europe and things like that for the first time ever. So it was what kind of created history for them. And now you can see how many good memories at FA Cup can, you know, can do, look at Crystal Palace last season and things like that, winning the trophy. And it's amazing for people like that. And also, thankfully, we've won it as well and I know how important it is. So my memories are probably more recent than in the past, but I do know how important the trophy is.

5:34Andy Robertson:And obviously the opponents in the FA Cup are Wolves, a team you've already played a few days ago. After conceding that late goal in midweek, how confident are you and the team to put things right this time and get the win?

5:46Nahyan Chowdhury:Yeah, look, the performance levels wasn't good enough on Tuesday. There's no coming away from that. You don't win many games of football playing the way we did. I think we probably put intensity into the game a bit too late. I thought first half lacked intensity and things like that. Then the game, the last 10 minutes, just kind of turned into a basketball match and things like that. And obviously when you're 1-1 and we get back on track, you think that, OK, we're going to maybe be the ones that go and nick it. But we obviously got the sucker punch of them. I thought they played a really good game.

6:19Nahyan Chowdhury:We know, especially under this new manager, we know Wolves are competitive. It's not Wolves that are 20th in the league. obviously they got off to a bad start this season, that's not the Wolves that are now they're very competitive and if the season could start again when the new managers come in they would be in a very different position so we know it's a tough team we know it's a tough place to go, it always has been and we know we need to play a lot better than we did the other night to get anything out of the game and that's what we've been working towards since Tuesday night and hopefully we can go and show that on Friday night

6:51Andy Robertson:It's probably safe to say it probably hasn't been the easiest of seasons for the club on and off the pitch, but what would they mean and say about the squad if you were to go on and win a trophy in FA Cup or potentially even a double with the Champions League whilst also securing a potential race into playing Champions League football next season as well?

7:09Nahyan Chowdhury:Yeah, look, I think the experienced lads, unfortunately, will give you quite a boring answer with this. We don't think about lifting a trophy just now, we think about trying to get into the next round and that's the way we've always worked and that's the way you kind of have to work because if you look too far ahead and think okay, who can we get in the semi-final or who can we get in the final then all of a sudden in the last 16 you're out and then you regret it. So I think Tuesday has shown us how difficult Friday's Cup tie is going to be because we're playing against a Wolves team that are in a really good moment at the minute.

7:43Nahyan Chowdhury:Obviously took three points off us, took three points off Villa, took one point off Arsenal recently in the league. So they're a team that are really difficult to beat at the minute and we need to put our full focus into that game and try and get through that and then we'll see who we get in the quarterfinals to see if we can book a place into Wembley. But like I said, you can't look too far ahead. We've got to focus on the 90 minutes of football that's ahead of us and hopefully if we can win that then we can see who we get in the draw and then you look further ahead.

8:13Andy Robertson:And just one on James Milner. You're good mates with James Milner. What was it like seeing him break the Premier League appearance record and how does that achievement kind of say much about him as a professional that he is, but also a great footballer as well?

8:26Nahyan Chowdhury:Yeah, unbelievable. You know, I was so happy for him and his family. You know, obviously he'll get all the credit and rightly so, but, you know, obviously his family have dedicated all their lives to football as well. You know, it's been a long stint as a professional footballer for Millie and, you know, obviously his wife and his parents and family that all follow him around, and they've obviously had to dedicate a lot of time to it as well. Everyone talks about Millie's character, Millie's mentality and things like that, which goes without saying that you don't be a professional at the highest level that long without having all that.

9:07Nahyan Chowdhury:But the quality that he has is unbelievable. He's always one of the best players in training. He's always Mr. Consistent. He always shows up when you need him the most and I think that's what's probably set him apart from a lot of others. To go and break the record, it feels as if he's been chasing it for so long now. I remember when he was here and we were all around the table, we'd talk about it and that was maybe when he was quite far away from it. Now he's just got closer and closer and closer and then obviously this season everyone close to him believed that this was the year for him to go and beat it.

9:42Nahyan Chowdhury:and it's an amazing achievement for him, so happy for him, he deserves it. What an unbelievable person, what an unbelievable footballer and I think that record will be hard to beat now.

9:54Andy Robertson:What do you reckon? Did you have a glass of Ribena? Did he celebrate with him?

9:58Nahyan Chowdhury:Probably, probably yeah. I'd imagine he'd went out for dinner and he wouldn't have got too carried away, knowing James, so yeah, I'm sure that would have been on the cards.

10:13Andy Robertson:Five Lives Sports. WSL. Our referee for this afternoon blows her whistle and we are underway there. That's the opening goal and she is able to just pick her spot. It's way past the best goalkeeper in the division. BBC Women's Football Weekly.

10:30Nahyan Chowdhury:The latest news, insights and analysis from across the women's game.

10:34Andy Robertson:Lucy Bruns, welcome back. What one lioness do you think would make the best rugby player? Me? Listen. With the BBC Sounds app.

10:45Andy Robertson:We focus on the part of the internet that most people don't know about. It's called the dark web. Undercover in the furthest corners of the dark web, US special agents are on a mission to locate and rescue children from abuse.

11:01Nahyan Chowdhury:Move in now.

11:02Andy Robertson:From the BBC World Service, World of Secrets, the darkest web follows their shocking investigations. Listen on BBC.com or wherever you get your BBC podcasts.