Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Stewart is huge Tierney admirer
RAYMOND Stewart is one of Scotland’s top full-backs of the post-war era, serving Dundee United, West Ham, St Johnstone and Scotland with distinction.
Ten full Scotland caps, over 430 games for West Ham and 40-plus i n his short spell with United are testament to that.
And there’s also the not so small matter of winning an FA Cup medal and netting over 100 spot-kicks, still a British record.
So when it comes t o judging a f u l l - b a c k ’s performance, he knows what he is talking about.
He’s already spoken of his admiration for Scotland left-back Andrew Robertson, who also started at United, and now he is waxing lyrical about Kieran Tierney who is set to line up i n the Scotland defence tomorrow night against Holland at Pittodrie.
“Kieran is a great player,” was Raymond’s opening comment.
He watched the Hoops youngster turn in another outstanding show against St Johnstone on Saturday.
“He is a young player so full of promise, one of the best defenders I have seen at such a young age.
“He is seen as more of an attacking full-back but he can defend well, too. He can tackle, pass, he has pace and he can score goals.
“He also has a good attitude.
“The fact he has been given a six-year contract by Celtic just shows how high a regard Brendan Rodgers has for him.
“Kieran is not just terrific now, he can be terrific for years to come.”