TALKING CELTIC
KIERAN TIERNEY has attributed playing international and Champions League football as the catalyst for his continual improvement.
The 20-year-old has become a mainstay of both Celtic and Scotland in recent seasons and it was this season’s high-pressure Champions League qualifiers that Tierney believes set the tone for the season.
The tension surrounding those all-or-nothing games at the very beginning of the campaign are what the full-back believes made sure he hit the ground running this term.
“It definitely helped me massively,” he said. “Those six qualifiers to get into the Champions League I think were actually really i mportant for me personally.
“They were high pressure games that we were involved in right away and you had to be in the right place mentally as well as physically.
“Definitely from my own point of view they helped me get to a level quite quickly of being in a place where you know every game is must-win and it is an attitude that I brought into Scotland.
“The way we have played and the manner in which we have kept the recent run going deserves a lot of credit because everyone has given their all.
“At Celtic we are playing must win, high pressure games a lot and it definitely makes a difference.
“To me that is a great benefit to Scotland that there are so many of us playing at that level.”
Tierney will return to domestic football this week and try to last night’s World Cup heartache behind him, with Celtic preparing for the visit of Dundee this weekend before Champions League football takes precedence once again.
The Parkhead side will go up against Bayern Munich in Germany before preparing for a League Cup semi-final at Hampden against Neil Lennon’s Hibs the following weekend.
SCOTT BROWN and Stuart Armstrong missed the block of international football, although inevitably there will be no rush to get them back prematurely, particularly given the nature of their injuries.
“We would love them back for the Bayern Munich game but they’ll be back when they are back – there is no point in anyone coming back before they are ready,” said Tierney.
“That game over in Munich is a huge night for us and we want to go over there and give a strong account of ourselves.
“It would be great if either Scott or Stuart were available but you also have to remember that just after that game we have Hibs in the semi-final of the League Cup at Hampden and that is a game we want to win.
“Hibs gave us a really hard game at Celtic Park a couple of weeks ago so we know that is a really big week for us. We need to be at our best to try with three games in three different competitions and we want to come out of those matches feeling in a good place.
“Having your best players available is always the ideal but we also know that we have quality players available to come in if we need them.
“These games have helped me hugely. The game over in Munich will be a tough one. But you never go out to get beaten.
“We will go out looking to play as we’ll as we can and I think we will take a lot from the performance we put in against Anderlecht.”
Tierney’s recent international involvement has meant a switch from the left to the right, a role that he has diligently tried to adapt to. The player has admitted that he has found it challenging to play on his weaker on his side, but has re-iterated that he would play wherever required.
“You just can’t switch off for a second,” he explained. “The biggest thing for me is the mental challenge of it – you are constantly looking behind you and staying alert to what is going on round about you.
“If you drop your guard for just a second then you can find that you’ve lost a man and the you’re in trouble.
“That is the same at Champions League level and at international level but it is also tough playing on the right.
“Playing on the opposite side of my natural foot means that you are almost thinking about what you are doing before you do it rather than the natural way I take the ball when I am on the left.
“But in some ways I have taken that as a compliment because it shows me the faith that the manager has in me and I am just delighted to be here and playing.
“I will happily go and give it my best shot wherever I am asked to play. I take it as a compliment as there are a number of good players who could easily go in there and play so I am happy to do my bit.”
LEIGH GRIFFITHS ended Scotland’s campaign as the main striker, a position that Tierney believes the striker is well worthy of.
“Leigh is brilliant. He makes me look good! He is able to get the ball and make a chance out of nothing from some of the balls in that I give him and he is another one that I think has developed loads from playing in the Champions League.
“His running, his hold-up play, his eye for goal and his ability to get on the end of something and make a yard of space have all helped him grow into a top level striker.”