No communication fears for young Scot

McGhee insists mouthpiece won’t affect Tierney confidence

Scotland assistant manager Mark McGhee insists there will be no communication problems for Kieran Tierney at Hampden.

The young Celtic star has had a gum shield fitted and the mouthpiece – there to protect him following the horrific facial injury suffered in the Scottish Cup final win over Aberdeen – was tested to the full during a robust training at the National Stadium yesterday.

Tierney did report that he has had trouble shouting at his team-mates because of the shield but McGhee is confident that it won’t be a problem if, as expected, the Hoops left-back plays on the right of the defence against England in the World Cup qualifying Group F match on Saturday.

McGhee said: “He got his gum shield measured on Monday and has been wearing it in training. It is from the same dentist who treated him after the cup final and he is happy with it.

“He says he finds it difficult to shout but otherwise there are no problems.

“Kieran was not being flippant about that. I think he was just saying he feels it is a bit tender.

“He will get used to it and I’m quite sure he will find a way of communicating.

“I am not 100% sure that he is a lad who says that much to anybody anyway so I don’t see that as an issue.”

What is an issue is the character being shown by Tierney to play out of position and with a gum shield in such an important match for Scotland.

McGhee agreed, saying: “He has that kind of toughness where he tests himself all the time. That’s what I like about him – he always seems to be testing himself in all sorts of ways. That is reflected in the way he plays.

“He has been throwing himself into challenges as usual – he is fearless.

“You’ve got to hold him back at times. He is one of these boys who only knows one way to play – and that includes training.”

Tierney made the switch from left to right in the 1-0 win over Slovenia in March and was hailed as a success by both boss Gordon Strachan and McGhee.

So they will have no hesitation throwing him in again on Saturday.

“I think he did brilliantly at right-back against Slovenia,” said McGhee.

“He might have surprised a lot of people. We weren’t surprised but we were pleased. We didn’t necessarily know any more than you did about how he would look there.

“The manager spoke to (Celtic boss) Brendan (Rodgers) and got his thoughts.

“Everybody was confident the boy was a good enough player to carry it off and he proved that. Whether he is going to be asked to do that again has yet to be decided but we would be confident that he would make a good fist of it if he was asked to play there.”

Meanwhile, McGhee knows his own future and that of boss Strachan are both on the line going into the Auld Enemy clash.

Should the Scots lose the match then it will be case of they think it’s all over – it probably is now.

He admitted: “We are all playing for the manager. Myself and the players, we are all playing for him. “We are there to support Gordon. “I have always had the feeling that the players are happy with Gordon. They like him and were especially pleased to get the result against Slovenia to help Gordon.

“Now they have gotten themselves back in the mix in the group.

“Rather than the pressure being off, though, we are going in with something to play for and that gives you something extra.”

Having been in and around the Scotland camp this week, you have sensed that they don’t quite know whether to play up the threat posed by the English or not.

Even McGhee heaped praise on them before stressing that there is no “fear” about facing them.

He said:“England have great players – really top pros. They are in danger of soon becoming a good team under Gareth Southgate.

“So for us to beat this team even at this stage of their evolution would be a great result.

“We know the strengths of their individuals but we don’t know the nature of their joint performance.

“A lot of our boys are familiar with their players and there is no mystery.

“Some of our boys who have played them will have had good days against them.

“So it is not something they go into with any fear.”

He has been throwing himself into challenges as usual – he is fearless. You’ve got to hold him back at times. MARK MCGHEE