Andy Robertson has been speaking to the BBC about what Leeds captain Liam Cooper is like in training for Scotland.
What did Robertson say?
In a feature designed to dish the dirt on Scotland’s squad, the Liverpool left-back didn’t hold back when talking about Cooper’s antics.
The BBC quote Robertson as saying: “I’ve got a lot of time for Coops. I think when he tries to play Bielsa-ball in training we struggle sometimes when he’s up front and defending.”
Knowing Robertson’s cheeky nature, it’s hard to tell if he’s being serious or not when his comments are only written down in black and white.
However, his words do provoke some thought into how Marcelo Bielsa’s training methods might make it harder to adapt to training elsewhere.
Steve Clarke might have to tell Cooper to relax
When you’ve spent a number of seasons charging around like a maniac playing MurderBall under Bielsa, it must be hard to set that aside.
We don’t know what methods Steve Clarke adopts, although judging by Robertson’s comments, it’s nothing like it is at Thorp Arch.
Clarke might have to tell Cooper to tone it down a bit. Playing so intensely could see him pick up an injury in training, after all.
Additionally, if the Tartan Army are trying to work on a structured shape, it doesn’t help that the 5-cap Scotland international keeps bombing forward as Robertson claims.
Nevertheless, it’s good to see Bielsa’s methods firmly engrained in Cooper’s brain – El Loco clearly has a strong impact on his players, to say the least.
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