TIERNEY LAPSE BUT BOSS INSISTS STAR IS FOCUSED
BRENDAN RODGERS last night admitted that he had sat down with Kieran Tierney to try to clear the defender’s head amid transfer interest from Everton.
The Merseyside club are preparing a hefty transfer offer for the defender that would smash the Scottish record of £13.5million received when Celtic sold Virgil van Dijk to Southampton in 2015.
Everton are prepared to double that offer but until the interest becomes concrete, Rodgers wants Tierney fully involved with Celtic’s preparations for the Champions League qualifier away to Armenia’s Alashkert on July 10.
To that end, Tierney started in yesterday’s friendly against Czech side Bohemians but made an uncharacteristic error at the opening goal, miscontrolling a ball out from goalkeeper Craig Gordon.
‘I think he was surprised a wee bit by the pass but that is okay — apart from that, he was very good,’ said Rodgers. ‘He is very committed and nothing changes.
‘He is a good boy and I had a long chat with him just about keeping his focus.
‘These things you can’t control. You just need to stay focused on keeping yourself fit and ready for the games.
‘If something comes in then fine but he just needs to go out and concentrate as we get ready for a long season ahead. He is absolutely fine.’
Celtic started brightly with James Forrest hitting the bar and Scott Sinclair forcing a one-handed stop from Tomas Frystak.
The afternoon turned the moment Jonny Hayes was forced to limp off with a thigh strain, his departure bringing an impromptu water break on a baking hot day. Hayes is just back after enduring a broken leg six months ago and Rodgers hopes the injury is a minor setback. If Tierney is sold, the ex-Aberdeen player will be a valuable option on the left flank. ‘These things can happen when you’re coming back from an injury,’ said Rodgers. ‘Jonny is a dynamic player but, hopefully, it was just a twinge and nothing too serious. ‘He started the game quite well, combing well with Scott down that side.’ Calamity struck just a couple of minutes later as Bohemians, who finished seventh in the Czech league last term, took the lead. Gordon was a little nonchalant with his pitched pass but Tierney reacted with an uncharacteristically heavy touch. Filip Hasek leapt on the mistake, advancing to the byeline before cutting back for Dominik Masek to score. Half-time brought a complete change of line-up for Celtic, save for Calvin Miller, who remained afield after replacing Hayes. ‘The scoreline is irrelevant in terms of our main objective,’ said Rodgers. ‘We had a game on Wednesday and double sessions on Thursday and Friday. So that is why we looked a wee bit leggy.’