Celtic axe 'best thing that happened to me' - Robertson

Andy Robertson's dreams of playing for boyhood club Celtic were shattered when he was released at age 15 - but the Scotland captain now regards it as "the best thing that happened to me".

After being let go for being too small, Robertson was plucked from the scrapheap by fourth-tier Queen's Park, beginning a rise that took him to Scotland stardom and Premier League and Champions League glory with Liverpool.

Speaking on The Overlap Podcast , 32-year-old left-back Robertson, who is now with Tottenham, said: "I'm a big Celtic fan, had a season ticket, was ball boy for a couple of games. So Celtic was everything.

"So when you get released at that age it's not the nicest. I turned 15 in the March and then in the summer I got let go. I'd been there since I was seven.

"In fairness I was pretty small and slim. There was a big change at Celtic at that point, Tommy Burns had just passed away, new people had come in and wanted to take it in a different direction.

"But it's the best thing that happened to me really, looking back.

"I look at players who had stayed at Celtic and were maybe still there in their twenties but did they make any first-team appearances? And then at 20 they're trying to get their career back on track by going to lesser teams in Scotland.

"So I was quite happy that my journey had started earlier than them."

Robertson's self-belief understandably suffered. And it was his auntie's unwavering confidence that helped convince him he was far from finished.

"At that point I wasn't thinking I'm going to be a footballer. I just wanted to play for Celtic - that was my dream," he added.

"Fifteen is a difficult age as it as, but I had people around me that did believe. My auntie was one of the big people.

"I remember when I came back from Celtic Park after being let go, my auntie was standing at the top of the steps with a takeaway for me - my favourite curry - and she was convincing my mum and dad, saying 'No, he'll make it'. I don't know why she had so much confidence in me, but fair enough."