He has been throwing himself into challenges A SHOW OF STRENGTH
Gumshield in place, Tierney wasn’t going to let sickening blow prevent him facing England at Hampden
ASKED whose example Kieran Tierney follows most closely, Mark McGhee doesn’t have far to look.
‘His team-mate Scott Brown is a good example,’ he said. ‘Kieran seems to mimic so much of Broony.
‘He comes to training in all weathers in short-sleeved shirt and shorts. Never trousers or a long-sleeve shirt.
‘I think he feels the pressure of Broony being like that and thinks: “Well, if he’s not wearing a jumper I can’t either...”
‘I don’t know if he wants to wear one. But 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.’
The Celtic left-back displayed a tenacity Brown surely admired in the Scottish Cup final.
Rushed for treatment on a suspected broken jaw, he was captured on YouTube jogging up the steps of the national stadium in his kit an hour later, hellbent on joining the celebrations.
Caught by Jayden Stockley’s loose elbow, he’ll play against England wearing a protective gumshield. Fears he might miss the game altogether misjudged his strength of character.
At times, he reminds McGhee of another renowned exponent of the full-back art.
‘Stuart Pearce is a good example,’ said the Scotland No2. ‘A great example. That blood on the face and head is Kieran.
‘That’s the way you expect him to be, with his determination and aggression.
‘He might not intimidate people yet because they don’t know him well enough. But in time he will be a player who simply by playing against him players will be intimidated.’
A down-to-earth kid from Wishaw, Tierney shows no inclination to leave Celtic — signing a five-year contract last season.
Nevertheless, the buzz around his talents south of the border is proving difficult to ignore.
Brendan Rodgers claims the champions turned down an offer from a major English club — believed to be Arsenal — last summer.
When Scotland play England this weekend, the eyes of scouts from the Premier League will be focused on at least one player in dark blue.
‘I don’t think he will pay much attention to what’s being said about him,’ countered McGhee. ‘He won’t believe what anyone says. There are people around him keeping his feet on the ground.
‘That’s not something he will be blase about, it’s just something he won’t be aware of. He will just get on with his job. I think it’s an opportunity for him — and he probably doesn’t realise this — to show how good a player he is.’
A 7-0 Champions League defeat in Barcelona in September proved a bruising affair. It’s hard to recall many other games when Tierney has fallen below a comfortable pass mark.
In the SPFL Premiership, judgment is a tricky business. A tenacious tackler, with pace and attacking prowess, however, McGhee rates raw determination his greatest asset.
‘He is definitely one who grows, even in terms of his physical stature, when he goes out there,’ he said. ‘You see him round the camp and he is going around with his duffel bag. I don’t know what he keeps in it. His boots probably — and his gumshield now.
‘But when he takes that off and walks on to the pitch, he is a different animal. He has been throwing himself into challenges as usual, he’s 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. I don’t think he has a second gear he trains at before shifting up for games. He trains the way he plays.’ McGhee cites Brown and Pearce as his reference points. Legendary Celtic full-back Danny McGrain might be the better example. Like McGrain, Tierney switches flanks on Scotland duty. A left-back by inclination, he was asked to solve a crisis at right-back in the last qualifier against Slovenia and emerged unscathed. Adam Lallana or Marcus Rashford offer a different level of challenge on England’s left flank. Yet McGhee believes Tierney can cope. ‘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. The manager spoke to Brendan Rodgers and got his thoughts and everybody was confident the boy was a good enough player to carry it off. 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.’
The relaxed attitude to playing Tierney out of position against an England team likely to go far in Russia next summer is typical of Scotland’s approach to Saturday.
A wretched start to the campaign came close to losing Gordon Strachan his job. With little or no expectation for a qualifying campaign with no margin for error left, the approach now is to take things game by game.
‘We are all playing for the manager,’ added McGhee. ‘Myself and the players, playing for Gordon. We are there to support Gordon.
‘I have always had the feeling that the players are happy with Gordon, they like Gordon and were especially pleased to get the result against Slovenia to help Gordon.
‘They have got themselves back in the mix. Rather than the pressure being off, we are going in with something to play for and that gives you something extra.’
Scotland’s players will be told to spend today as they please.
Some will welcome their families to the hotel, others will head into Glasgow.
In contrast with Gareth Southgate, Scotland’s management see no benefit in sending them to a Royal Marines boot camp.
‘Maybe some light relief helps,’ shrugged McGhee. ‘It can be a long week. Gareth is trying to mould them into the great team potential they have in them. Things like that can help.
‘They have great players. They are not always a great team.’