Andy Robertson insists Sir Kenny Dalglish will always be Scotland's greatest player as the captain prepares to equal his record of 102 caps against North Macedonia.
Robertson, who will match the milestone set by the Liverpool and Celtic icon, paid tribute to Dalglish, saying the Hampden throne will always belong to the country's all-time great.
Robertson's Tribute to Dalglish
Robertson said: "When the time comes and I do go above him, I'll be above him in caps only. That's where it ends. I know he always gets the nickname of 'the King' and things like that. For me, he'll always be the greatest of this country because of what he did, how he did it and also the man that he's become as well."
He added: "We've had so many good players. But for me, I think Kenny will always stand on top and I don't think that will change."
Yesterday marked 40 years since Dalglish made his final international appearance. Four decades later, fellow Liverpool legend Robertson will match his record milestone, even after Dalglish jokingly begged him to retire.
Robertson laughed: "He's told me that a few times. We've had a lot of jokes. But I also know, deep down, how proud he is as well of me and how happy he is for me as well. I always remember when I got the captaincy it was one of the first texts I got. He said 'You don't need help but if you need somebody to bounce anything off, then I can be that person.'"
Dalglish's Legacy
Robertson spoke of the importance of Dalglish's support, saying: "To have somebody like that to rely on and things like that, is great. It's so important to me. Him and his family have been such a massive help to my family, especially at my time at Liverpool. I've got no doubt there will be a couple of texts that will be exchanged."
He added: "He reminds me all the time that getting 102 caps back then was a lot harder than it is now. He's right because obviously there was less games. Obviously, in terms of number, I will stand side by side with him, but I don't want people to forget how important this man has been to our country."
Robertson concluded: "Because, for me, he was arguably the best player in the world at his time and will always be the greatest in this country, no matter what happens in the future. He'll always be the first one to do X, Y and Z. I just think that shouldn't be forgotten. We're not always the best at maybe remembering these great people. Friday is definitely a reason to do that for Kenny."
Future Milestones
Robertson has a long way to go to beat Gemma Fay's all-time Scotland appearance record of 203 caps, and admits that landmark might be beyond him.
He joked: "I've always kept pushing. My wife asked me a similar question last week when we were talking about it. I was going to try and catch Gemma Fay but I think that might be a little bit too far from me! What was my wife's reaction? I don't think I can tell you! I think she just burst out laughing. I think I can admit that that's unachievable. But there will always be something that keeps pushing me. The main two things for me are I want to get Scotland back to another major tournament, I want to try and get out of the group stages."
He added: "And secondly, I want to try and leave the squad in the best possible place in terms of the quality coming through, the characters and mentality they've got, and if I can leave that behind, I can maybe enjoy Scotland games a bit more and party with the fans."
Robertson will move out on his own with 103 caps in Monday's final Nations League clash away to Switzerland, provided he avoids a booking tonight.
The 32-year-old is walking a suspension tightrope and added: "Thanks for reminding me! I think there's a good few of us actually from that. But yeah. That's part and parcel of football, that won't stop me. I'll play the game as exactly how I play the game, I'll try and win as much as I can and hopefully I can avoid one. But at the end of the day it's not going to stop me from pulling out of tackles or anything like that. We have to play the game at 100 per cent and that's exactly what we'll do and hopefully we can win it."
