Andy Robertson has never played in a Merseyside derby at Goodison before – he was injured for the 0-0 nonevent last season – though he knows what to expect from a team managed by Marco Silva. The full-back credits the Everton manager with helping him to improve his game when he was at Hull, and made a point of telling him so after the 97th-minute Liverpool winner that settled the derby at Anfield in December.

Virgil van Dijk says title pursuit will give Liverpool vital edge at Everton Read more

“It was obviously a short conversation,” Robertson explains. “Our manager was celebrating on the pitch and Marco was obviously gutted at the way the match had been won, of course he was. It was probably not the best time to speak to anyone from the losing side after a derby like that but I have respect for him and I’d like to think he has respect for me as well, I gave him everything for the six months he was at Hull. So I just went over and said thanks. I could see he was gutted but he came over and shook my hand and it was appreciated.”

Results have not been as Everton would have wished since that derby defeat, and Silva’s ability to sustain long-term rather than short‑term improvement has come into question, though Robertson remains a fan. “He was big for me,” he says. “When he came in he improved us all at Hull, you could see that by the results we got. We fell short in the end but he was the one who gave us a chance, a fantastic manager who did a lot of good things. It was the first time I had worked for a foreign manager, so that stood me in good stead too.

“It probably helped me settle in a bit when I came to Liverpool. Marco does his research on every opponent, in fact he is probably telling Everton all about me right now. At Hull he worked individually with all the players and brought me on a lot defensively. He is someone I will always think kindly of even if he is now with the local rivals.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Andy Robertson says Marco Silva ‘brought me on a lot defensively’ in his time at Hull. Photograph: Reuters Staff/Reuters

Robertson admits the local rivals were unlucky not to get at least a point at Anfield. “I thought they played very well in that game, they definitely had the better chances and probably believed they could get something,” he says. “We started too slowly and though we improved in the second half it was without really creating anything. Then of course it came down to one late mistake, Divock Origi was in the right place at the right time and we won, but if the game had finished 0-0 I don’t think anyone could have argued. This is going to be a different game. They are at home, they would love to get a result for their fans, but it is up to us to play better than we did at Anfield and hopefully our quality will shine through and give us the result we need.”

There is another reason why this derby might be different and Robertson is either too wise or too wary to mention it. Liverpool just happen to be in an excitingly close title race with Manchester City, there are 10 games left to secure a first league championship in 29 years, and Everton and their supporters would like nothing better than to be the ones to knock a promising campaign off course. “The next few weeks will be about this squad sticking together and forgetting the outside noise,” the 24-year-old says. “Everyone connected with football knows the Liverpool fans are desperate for a league title. We can’t hide from that and neither would we want to, because the wait has been too long. But we need to forget about it and keep up our concentration on the pitch.

“Personally, I don’t feel any extra pressure. I still look forward to every game and I don’t think that will change until the end of the season, if I’m honest. If we have to go into the last game needing a win then fair enough, that will be pressure, but at this stage we have still got to enjoy being involved in the chase.

Liverpool celebrated Anfield derby win like World Cup final, says Marco Silva Read more

“People have been saying we have lost our spark because we drew a few games and didn’t have as many shots on target as we normally do but I think we showed what we are capable of on Wednesday against Watford. It was a fantastic performance and we need to continue doing that and see where it takes us. We will only find out whether it is enough at the end of the season but the Premier League is something that we should enjoy, it shouldn’t be anything we need fear.”

Though Robertson has not yet completed five seasons in England he has packed a lot into his rapid rise to the top, including a Champions League final, a promotion and two relegations with Hull and the captaincy of Scotland along the way. He was destined for university before an opportunity arrived at Queen’s Park and, though the degree course was put on hold, he still talks with a maturity beyond his years. “In the long run of the league the best team always wins,” he says. “You can get lucky in the cups but you don’t get lucky over a 38-game season. Whoever wins deserves it, and if it turns out to be Man City we will hold our hands up and move on to next season. As long as we give 100% in every game we can have no regrets. There can only be one winner so someone will have to fall short, but whether it is us or City the main thing is to be able to look back at the end of the season and know that you have given absolutely everything.”

The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email.

Just a bit of pressure, then? “This is an enjoyable pressure,” he says. “Going for titles and medals, who wouldn’t want that? Trust me, it’s a much nicer feeling than fighting relegation. I have experienced that twice and, especially the first time, had to deal with the consequences. I saw people lose their jobs and suffer 50% wage reductions, and as players we felt we had failed the fans and everyone connected with the club. So for me at least, this is a lot easier. This is the sort of situation anyone would want to be in.”