Liverpool star's 'exciting' praise and word of caution for Middlesbrough loanee

But Robertson has urged patience with the teenager after an eye-catching Scotland debut. Doak joined Boro on loan for the season on deadline day before linking up with the Scotland senior squad three days later. He came off the bench to make his debut in Thursday's 3-2 Nations League defeat to Poland and is likely to play some part in tonight's game against Portugal.

“He is a hungry individual,” said Robertson, Doak's Liverpool and Scotland teammate. “He is very determined to do the best for himself and for the team, and that is important. He is exciting but we have to be careful.



He is a young player. He needs to gain experience. He needs to work on things.

He knows that. “The quality that he does have is very good. I think he will have a fantastic career at whatever level that may be.

He will have a good international career, but it is important that we are patient with him. It is important that we see him grow. That is the key thing.

Sometimes we get on top of young players far too quickly.” READ MORE: Doak's eye-catching Scotland debut was one of the big positives for Steve Clarke despite the defeat to Poland. Former Scotland centre-half Willie Miller was hugely impressed, and told BBC Radio Scotland: "Everybody got a lift, including the players.

"Doak's impact was immediate. It's great to see someone with that pace, directness and skill." Miller, like Robertson, urged the need for patience.

"He needs more time," he said. "The manager now has a responsibility to give him the opportunity when he's that young. "On the evidence of his cameo appearance as a substitute, he's going to be big player in that position going forward and he might get a start against Portugal on Sunday.

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