TIERNEY TO GIVE SCOTS EXTRA BITE
ASKED this week whether the arrival of young left back Kieran Tierney is proof that the Scottish talent pool is not yet dry, manager Gordon Strachan said drily: ‘Well, I could do with some more of them. They all seem to be left backs.’
It was typical Strachan in many ways in that it was meant to be pithy. But it actually pointed to the challenge that will face Tierney against England today. In only his fourth game for his country, he is likely to be asked to play out of position at right back.
Before playing there in Scotland’s recent World Cup win over Slovenia, Tierney had only ever done it at an Under 15 tournament. Not that he mentioned it to anybody. That does not appear to be the style of a young footballer many believe to be the best Scotland have produced for years.
Danny McGrain — the great Scottish full back who used to swap flanks for the national team — is now on the Celtic coaching staff and said: ‘Consistency is the stamp of a good player and that is what Kieran produces for Celtic. He doesn’t need me to talk to him about this. He is that good.’
Tierney spent his 20th birthday on Monday at a dental hospital having a mouth guard measured that will enable him to face England at Hampden. The blow to the mouth he received in Celtic’s Scottish Cup final win over Aberdeen was so brutal it shifted a whole row of teeth across his mouth.
‘You think you have seen these injuries but you haven’t seen one like this,’ said Strachan. ‘This was quite tricky. It was good the surgeon was there to look after him right away.’
From the youngster there has been no fuss. He made it back from A&E on the day of the match and sprinted up the steps outside Hampden — still in his kit — in time to receive his medal. This straightforward attitude is mirrored in his simple, effective football and, predictably enough, eyes from England are shining on him already.
Arsenal are the latest club linked and it is understood Celtic will cash in at some stage. The player himself is not keen to move anywhere just yet. He has signed a new long-term contract and is still living at home with his parents.
Born on the Isle of Man, Tierney moved to the Clyde Valley when he was only 10 months and has been on Celtic’s books since he was seven, having been spotted by the father of former Celtic captain Paul McStay.
At school in Motherwell, where his mother Gail works as a dinner lady, he told careers teachers he would be a footballer. ‘They told me to put down “joiner” or something but I had already been at Celtic for six years,’ he said.
At Our Lady’s High School they probably should have known better. Matt Busby, Billy McNeill and Bobby Murdoch are all alumni.
As winner of the Scottish PFA and FWA Young Player awards for each of the last two seasons, Tierney is the best the Scots have. ‘He is a nice guy, only young and such a good player,’ said McGrain. ‘Playing on the other side made me improve. Kieran is just getting better and better and I can’t wait to see him in a couple of years.’