FIVE STAR BHOY
Goal hero Tierney can make armband his own
BRENDAN RODGERS last night hailed Kieran Tierney as a permanent Celtic captain in the making after the defender marked his first competitive game wearing the armband with a Goal of the Season contender.
Celtic eased into the last eight of the Betfred Cup courtesy of a five-goal dismissal of Kilmarnock, with a Leigh Griffiths double, a first goal for Anthony Ralston and Stuart Armstrong’s strike doing the damage.
But it was Tierney’s 40-yard screamer, to open up a four-goal deficit, that had Rodgers purring afterwards, the Celtic manager later claiming the 20-year-old was the natural long-term successor to Scott Brown.
Speaking on the day that another loan move for Patrick Roberts inched closer,
Rodgers said: ‘It was a great strike, he’s shown that in training but he can’t get near the free-kicks because of Griff and others. ‘Sometimes that central role allows him to step in and shoot — and when you saw it on the screen his strike was as clean as a whistle. I’m delighted for him.’ Asked about Tierney’s future prospects of being captain, Rodgers added: ‘He’s made for it, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve got some real senior guys at the club and I could give anyone the armband; Craig Gordon or Mikael Lustig. But if you’re talking about the future once Brown’s time is up — which it won’t be for a few years yet — then he’s made for it. He’s of that ilk. ‘Kieran doesn’t waste his time doing stupid things, he’s concentrated on his football. Tactically, he’s improving all the time and he’s an absolute joy to work with.’ Celtic are believed to be edging closer to bringing Manchester City winger Roberts back to Glasgow for a second loan spell. The player is understood to have told City Celtic is his preferred option although Rodgers didn’t confirm suggestions that confirmation of the move was imminent. ‘As we sit here now, there is nothing to add to what has been said over the last couple of days,’ he stressed. ‘Pat is a Manchester City player, he spent his preseason there and if there are any developments to come out of City then we would be hugely interested in him. ‘Has there been any dialogue? That’s private if there has.’ The only downside for Celtic was an injury to Eboue Kouassi which forced the Ivorian to be stretchered off late in the first half. ‘We will assess him over the next few days,’ said Rodgers. ‘He jarred his knee a little bit and we shall see what the scan shows up.’