BY DARREN JOHNSTONE @CCP_Sport
Scotland forward Shaun Maloney insists Hull City team-mate Andrew Robertson has a huge future in football.
Robertson, capped eight times at full national level, has dropped back down to the Under-21 side to help Ricky Sbragia’s side for tonight’s crunch Euro qualifier against Ukraine.
And from playing alongside the talented left-wing back at both international and club level, former Celtic playmaker Maloney is adamant that the 21-year-old can reach the top of the game.
Maloney said: “The last few weeks he’s been excellent for the team. His defending is definitely getting better.
“What is he, 21? If he puts his mind to it, he can be anything he wants in terms of how far he wants to go in this country.
“Fingers crossed he keeps playing the way he has been, because he’s been really good for us.
“He’s got all the tools, in terms of pace and strength, to be a really fine left-back for this club and his country. Fingers crossed he continues to improve.
“I know he started off brilliantly last season and now he’s back to that form.”
Speaking to the Hull Daily Mail, Maloney, who has made nine appearances for the Championship outfit since joining from Chicago Fire in August, added:
“The coaching team and the manager (Steve Bruce) have got a far better idea of how to help his game come on. But he’s going to learn a lot just by continually playing in the amount of games he does.
“For senior players you can only try and lead by example, training hard each day and preparing for games well.
“In fairness he’s pretty good at that already, so it’s just down to him.”
