Liverpool star Andy Robertson disagrees with manager theory and makes 'fear' admission

Liverpool's Andy Robertson described his Scotland team's 'fearful' Euro 2024 performance, shutting down manager Steve Clarke's attempt to take responsibility for the embarrassing defeat.

Germany rolled to a 5-1 demolition of Clarke's Tartan Army in the tournament's opening game as Scotland's audacious high line and ineffective press saw the host nation build a dominant advantage inside the first 20 minutes.

"Everyone assessed themselves after the game and maybe the gaffer was a bit harsh on himself I think, yeah ok, if he believes there was too much information but I believe the information was clear," Robertson said. "Maybe the occasion got to a couple of us and maybe some of us didn't have the best game. The manager and his coaches will look at themselves and see where they could have done better but the players have to look at themselves and everyone took that day to look inward and not point fingers.

READ MORE: Liverpool transfer news LIVE: Alvin Ayman deal, Riccardo Calafiori inquiry, Kvaratskhelia statement
READ MORE: Simon Jordan explains why Liverpool might have a problem with Arne Slot

"Maybe we played with a wee bit of fear. It's easy to talk about it and harder to put in place. It's not easy to start against the home country let me tell you. We had enough experience on the pitch to do better. We have a big game coming on Friday night we are all excited about. We want to show Scotland this tournament what Scotland is all about."

Clarke offered a wide-ranging, candid interview following the match, revealing that cooler heads have prevailed after a touch-line dust-up with assistant coach Austin MacPhee and discussing his decision to omit Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour from the starting 11. He also offered a theory for Scotland's shocking showing, taking fault for an overly technical set of instructions.

“If I criticise myself - and I always do, I start with myself - maybe I gave too much information which clouded the players on the pitch in terms of what we do with the ball, what we do without the ball,” Clarke said. “So we can work on that, we did this morning and will for the next two days going into the game on Wednesday night. Hopefully, we will see a different performance."

The fifth-year Scotland boss hopes for Robertson and company to rediscover their qualifying form, where they lost just one match in 10 outings and notched a famous 2-0 victory over Spain from Hampden Park. Scotland's form dipped drastically after qualifying for its second European championship this millennium, suffering unsightly results to Finland and Northern Ireland, and Robertson called on his team for an immediate response to avoid further humiliation in Germany.

"We need to get back to being us," he said. "We weren't ourselves on Friday. We need to realise what got us results in the past and what we were good at. The message off the pitch hasn't changed. We need to trust each other and we will be a better team for it. You saw that in the qualifying campaign - a team full of belief."

Scotland will hope to rebound against Switzerland on Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET before finishing group play Sunday versus Hungary.