Robertson stated on the "Stick to Football" podcast that Liverpool lost their best form last season following Jota's death.

Robertson acknowledged that Jota's death had a profound impact on Liverpool. Jota died in a car accident in Spain in July 2024, and his brother-in-law, André Silva, also died in the same accident. They were driving through Spain, preparing to return to England for preseason training.

As defending Premier League champions, Liverpool began the new season. However, Robertson said that after Jota's death, the team struggled to care about football.

"It's very difficult to describe, and difficult to talk about because what we experienced was horrific," Robertson said. "When you're talking about new players, they arrive at a club that is broken-hearted."

"They try hard, and that's where I felt sorry for them. They were signed for big money, but it took months for them to adapt because we didn't care about football."

"That's the truth. We didn't care about football because you've just lost one of your best friends in the changing room."

"That's also why, from a football perspective, I have a lot of sympathy for the new players. I felt they came to a team that had performed at the highest level in every aspect for years, but because of what happened, we might not have been able to maintain our previous standard. Then they received a lot of criticism."

"So I think these players will be fine at Liverpool. I'm going to view this season as their first season."

Robertson continued: "I think all players have that edge. Once you lose that edge, sometimes you can't perform at your best. I think we lost our edge last season, and we lost some of our drive because there were moments when we might have thought: 'You know, what's the point anymore?'"

"Look at what Jota's family and his children have gone through. But yes, we grieved. In the end, he was our friend. For us, he wasn't just a player, but a teammate, a friend."

"So it was very difficult for us. A week before he died, I attended his wedding. That's one of the hardest things you'll experience in your life. One week you see him on the happiest day of his life, and the next week you see his family shattered."

Liverpool struggled last season, ultimately finishing fifth in the Premier League, and Arne Slot lost his position as head coach after that season. Robertson praised Slot's handling of the team immediately after Jota's death and said Liverpool didn't receive enough understanding of their situation at the time.

"We talked a lot during preseason," Robertson said. "The coach actually did a great job. To be honest, our preseason training was almost empty, because, honestly for Arne, his attitude was: 'If you don't want to train, then don't.'"

"The club already had a psychologist, and he organized some group sessions. If anyone wanted to have coffee and chat together, they could. We did that a few times, and I think it helped, but that period was very difficult."

"We will always feel the pain for his family and his wife. Their lives were completely shattered. We were heartbroken, but for them, every day must be difficult, and it still is."

"I think we got through it together, and we always said: 'We will always remember him.' But in the end, we still had to play football, there was no choice. We tried our best, and that's why last season was so difficult."

Regarding external criticism of the team's performance, Robertson said: "At the end of the day, football is about results, and we didn't get enough results. That's the truth."

"But if you go back to the summer before, we had the biggest parade in Liverpool's history. We rode an open bus through the city center, and I think more than a million people came to see us. The next day, we shook hands and said goodbye to each other, and everyone went on holiday. The next time we saw all our teammates, we were already at the airport, preparing to fly to Porto for Jota's funeral."

"From the peak of lifting the Premier League trophy and parading in front of thousands of fans, to then seeing the condition of the staff and players, nothing was normal. What we experienced was not normal, so I think these factors might need to be taken into account."

"But as the season went on, we knew we had to perform better and we needed to win. I also understand why there was frustration later with our style of play and our results."

"At the start of the season, the coach really helped us a lot. He understood the situation at the time and didn't put too much pressure on us during preseason; he also didn't force a competitive atmosphere if someone wasn't in good shape."

"We had a slow start, but then we won our first 5 matches, and everyone thought Liverpool would win the league again. When we won those first 5 matches, we might have just been masking the problems. After the international break, those problems were exposed."

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