So solid crew behind young skipper Tierney
CALLUM McGREGOR insists no one in the Scotland squad was surprised that Malky Mackay gave his Celtic team-mate Kieran Tierney the captain’s armband at Pittodrie on Thursday.
The midfielder, who made his Scotland debut in the 1-0 loss to Holland, says it was another step in the youngster’s rise for club and country.
In-form Tierney, 20 (below) became the fourth-youngest player to captain Scotland – and with Scott Brown and Darren Fletcher out of the squad, McGregor reckons the full-back was the natural selection for Mackay.
He said: “Kieran is unbelievable. To be captain of your country at such a young age shows he has the mentality.
“And it was another great performance, he just gets better and better.
“The fact no one is surprised he’s the captain of Scotland for a game like this says a lot.
“We walked into the dressing room and saw Buy four for the armband next to his place and no one even blinked. We all thought it was a perfectly normal thing.
“He’s been outstanding for Celtic since the minute he came into the team – and he’s carried that into international football.
“He’ll not be fazed by any of it either. He’s just that type of boy, totally level-headed, takes it all in his stride.” And Tierney’s captain’s role last Thursday should not be seen as a one-off either, as McGregor added: “There’s no reason why he can’t be captain again.
“He did very well in his first game as captain and he’s improving all the time.
“You can have two different types of captain, the vocal ones and the ones who do rather than talk and he’s probably in the latter camp.
“In terms of his performances, he’s showing the rest of us the standard he expects.” A magnificent evergreen shrub with striking cream edged green foliage from spring to autumn, turning vivid pink in winter, with clusters of delicate, light mauve coloured flowers appearing in summer. The Hebe Heartbreaker's dwarf compact habit of just 60cm makes it the ideal subject for a patio container. 9cm pot grown plants supplied. Delivery within 14 days.