Tierney not afraid to dish out the criticism on big stage if team-mates fall short

THERE was a moment in Wednesday’s Champions League clash at the Allianz Arena where Kieran Tierney issued a verbal volley towards team-mate Scott Sinclair for not offering the right angle for a pass. The flashpoint illustrated how the 20-year-old’s personality stands tall among his most senior of team-mates, yet away from the pitch the left-back reserves his harshest criticism for himself. The country’s reigning young player of the year, a regular full international and the subject of interest from the very top clubs in the English Premier League, Tierney (left) is arguably the brightest prospect Scottish football has produced in a decade.

Perhaps surprisingly, he does not feel there is any aspect of his game that is exceptional.

Wednesday brought the challenge of trying to tame Bayern Munich’s Arjen Robben, a man making his 100th Champions League appearance. Tierney doggedly stuck to his task and was certainly not overrun in the way his colleague Cristian Gamboa suffered at the hands of Kingsley Coman on the other flank, but the 3-0 scoreline was nevertheless a blow to his pride.

The self-analysis may be unduly critical but it’s that yearning for improvement that just might carry him to the very top.

‘Robben is one of the best wingers for a reason and I just tried to do a job,’ he said. ‘I could have done better but I gave it 100 per cent, as I always do. Whether that is enough or not, it is all I can do.

‘I know when I have played

I scuffed the ball straight to Rogic. Robben said: ‘Good pass my friend’

well and when I have played badly. You just try to learn. I always need to improve everything. If I am honest, I am not really that good at anything in particular. ‘There is nothing that I am perfect on, so I just try to improve every single day. But in the big games I would like to keep the ball a bit better.’ As it happens, the one moment when he and Robben conversed brought a moment of light relief to proceedings. ‘I tried to zing the ball to Paddy Roberts on a big switch but I scuffed it and it went right to Tom Rogic,’ reveals Tierney. ‘Robben said: “Good pass my friend”. Both of us were just laughing. I said: “What are you talking about? I meant that”.

Tierney may not regard himself as the finished article but the fact he felt comfortable enough to give an earful to one of Celtic’s star players was telling.

‘There is no point in being shy and acting like a 20-year-old,’ he continues. ‘Not many at my age play every time in the Champions League, so you don’t want to go out there timid or young.

‘You need to act as though you are part of the team and this is a good team to be part of because everybody supports each other. You don’t enjoy being beaten but you enjoy testing yourself against the best. I know there are negatives for me to look at but there are positives, too.

‘I had a couple of chances up the park — one where I went to the byeline and hit the keeper, and the shot from 20-odd yards, which I think the keeper actually got a touch on.

‘At the end of the day it was Bayern Munich. Physically it’s hard because you are running about for 90 minutes chasing the best players in the world.

‘Personally, I would like to do better but we’ve got them again at home, so we will analyse it.

‘The more we play these teams, the better we will get for the future.’