TIERNEY’S CELTIC CAREER BUILT ON FIRM FOUNDATIONS –
Kieran Tierney was lined up for a career as a bricklayer until football came along and says that he will never forget his roots... which means the Celtic starlet’s dad can forget about getting a job as his chauffeur
IT could have been bricks Kieran Tierney was cementing, rather than a reputation as one of Britain’s best young full-backs. The privilege of his current position is not lost on Celtic’s teenage defender. Remembering his roots, keeping grounded, accepting responsibility. These are qualities that will continue to guide his career.
At the age of 19, Tierney has just won a second league title with the club he supports. Barely a week seems to pass without him earning fresh praise for performances at domestic or international level. Manchester United are among the English superclubs watching his progress.
Refreshingly, Tierney remains utterly unaffected by the intensifying accolades and attention. It’s not in his nature. And it would never be allowed by his family and friends.
Growing up in Wishaw, dad Michael instilled in him both a profound passion for Celtic and a work ethic to maximise the opportunities he has received. The teaching has stuck. Tierney laughs when asked if he is ever likely to become the kind of player who would think of hiring a personal assistant and a driver.
‘My dad always says: “I’ll be your driver, I’ll be your driver!”. He’s hopeless, man,’ grinned Tierney. ‘I will always be my own driver.
‘I hope I will always keep my feet on the ground. I want to remember my roots — and my best friends when I was five years old are still my best friends now.
‘I have a good group of people around me and that definitely helps. After games, we don’t talk too much about football, just normal life stuff. “What time are you going on the PlayStation?” and things like that.
‘It is no different from what it would be like if I had a normal job. My pals are doing apprenticeships. They get up earlier than me and get home at 5pm or 6pm. That is another reason why I need to realise how lucky I am.
‘If football hadn’t worked for me, I think I would have been a brickie. I did construction and things at school. I wasn’t mad smart, just normal. I think I would have gone to college and then an apprenticeship somewhere.
‘Everyone says you always need to stick in at school for the back-up plan.
‘Obviously, when you are younger, you never really think about it because it is just football, football, football.
‘But the older you get, the more you realise you do need something.’
Tierney is now unlikely to ever experience a cold morning on a building site. Under contract until the summer of 2021, he has developed into one of Celtic’s prime assets.
Interest in his services seems all but inevitable this summer. Tierney, though, is solely focused on helping continue Celtic’s sharp upward trajectory under the management of Brendan Rodgers.
Sunday’s 5-0 hammering of Hearts was a pretty special way to clinch the league crown. All the more so for Tierney given those there to see it.
‘I had a lot of pals in the crowd at Tynecastle. It was hard to find them all,’ he reflected.
‘I saw my mum and dad at the start of the game when I went out for the warm-up. You couldn’t miss my dad in his big green T-shirt.
‘I just know my dad is so proud, him and my mum. All my family are always there, my friends as well. Knowing they are all there is a great support for me.
‘I don’t know if my dad has words for it all. Obviously, you want it to happen when you are young, but it is difficult.
‘I am lucky enough to be where I am just now.
‘One of my dad’s quotes was to treat every game, every training session, like a cup final. Give 100 per cent.
‘My dad drilled that into me when I was young and I take it to this day.
‘I don’t want to lose a minute on the pitch. I just want to give my all, all the time.
‘My dad told me how proud he was after he had a few beers on Sunday night! We had that chat then.
‘He does tell me how proud I make the family. You kind of know that anyway, with them all being Celtic fans.
‘It is just great for me knowing that I can make them proud because I wouldn’t be where I am just now without them all.’
The wider attention away from a football pitch may seem slightly surreal at times, but Tierney has taken fame in his stride.
‘There are people who want to speak with you, but there is no one being bad,’ he added. ‘They are happy for you and they congratulate you. That’s going to happen when you are from my area and you are a Celtic fan and it’s good. I don’t mind it at all.
‘I don’t think about it too much. Sometimes, when you are in Tesco, you get people coming up and taking pictures of you.
‘Sometimes, you can see people sneaking a picture, but, other than that, you just need to make sure you don’t have a mouthful of food!’
Tierney revealed he works every day at Lennoxtown with coach John Kennedy to try and improve upon the weaknesses in his game. Right foot, heading and finishing top a shortening list.
The fact he missed three months of this season with an ankle ligament injury means he will not be knocking on Rodgers’ door to seek the pre-summer time off being offered by the manager for key players.
While sidelined in the winter, Tierney also had surgery to fix a long-standing shoulder issue.
‘Obviously, I missed a few big games and I’ll play any game that I am available for,’ he insisted. ‘When I am fit, I want to play. ‘The first few weeks out, you get a bit of rest with not playing games.
‘Mentally, though, there is no rest at all because you need to set your mind for getting back from two operations.
‘No matter what I do, I try to give my best into anything I do. Knowing that I would come back from a leg break when I was younger obviously gave me confidence that if I worked hard again, I’d be all right.’
My dad told me how proud he was after he had a few beers on Sunday night!