That Celtic top was a Christmas gift. I saw it and thought “This one’s a belter”
Going to the pub must have cost me a hundred rounds of drinks
KIERAN TIERNEY has spent more minutes wearing a first-team jersey than any other footballer in Europe this season.
And the full-back’s dedication to Celtic might be proving as tireless as he is.
As a Christmas gift, the 20-year-old asked for a retro shirt from the Parkhead club’s centenary season of 1987-88.
Then he spent his January break in a Tenerife supporters’ bar posing for selfies and signing autographs in his old-school green and white jersey.
‘I asked for that for Christmas,’ he admits with a sheepish grin. ‘That was the only thing I could think of.
‘It was the CR Smith centenary year strip. Before Christmas they always bring stuff in from people for you to sign.
‘I saw this shirt and thought: “This one is a belter”.
‘I tried it on and said: “Right, get me one of them for Christmas”.
‘It was someone my mum knew that I had to sign it for, so I just said get me one because it’s decent. It’s a nice top. That’s the story behind it.’
In the age of social media, little stays secret for long. A footballer’s lunch choice can be public knowledge on Instagram before the main course arrives.
By the middle of last week, images began to circulate online of the Scotland international posing for pictures in the shirt during down-time in the Canary Islands.
‘I got a bit of slagging for it,’ he admits, speaking to media in the team’s Dubai hotel.
‘Do people not know I’m a Celtic fan?
‘Every interview I mention I’m a Celtic fan, then I get slagged for wearing a Celtic top. But you deal with it.
‘It was a Celtic pub. I’ve been to Tenerife a few times and I have always gone to see them and I said I’d go again this time. They asked me to pop in, so it was good to see the fans as well.
‘Some guy put it onto social media and it killed me. It must have cost me about a hundred rounds of drinks.
‘But, seriously, when people come to see you on their holiday and take that time out, it’s crazy.’
Slowly, imperceptibly, Tierney is growing more comfortable with the interviews and attention.
Quicker than anyone expected, he has donned the garments of a first-team player and made them his own. yet he retains his sense of wonder. The humility of a working-class kid who achieved a dream he never really expected to come his way.
Some young Celtic players turn 18, sign a new deal and buy two top-of-the-range cars.
Tierney bought a new home for his parents and, when they moved in, he joined them.
Inevitably, football fame has brought a lucrative new contract and changed his financial fortunes. But there is a sense that he will never change as a person.
‘Growing up as a footballer, that’s what I’ve always wanted,’ he admits. ‘But for my parents, it’s been different.
‘I’ve gone from just a young boy to people wanting pictures.
‘I’m just trying to do my best. I think it is very important.
‘I said to the owner of the bar in Tenerife that if I was a Celtic fan on holiday and a Celtic player was coming, I’d be buzzing about it.
‘So if have that opportunity to do that for somebody, I’d do it.
‘I’m not saying it is going to make anyone’s holiday, but if it makes them happy for that day, I’ll do it.’
The Celtic player going on holiday in a Celtic shirt will prompt a variety of reactions.
One supporter on Twitter posted stats showing that, including international games, Tierney has spent more minutes wearing a first-team jersey this season (3,607) than any other outfield player in a European top-tier league. Only Craig Gordon has played more minutes. Team-mates Scott Brown and Mikael Lustig are the closest outfield players, while Valon Berisha of Red Bull Salzburg is the first non-Celtic player on the list.
yet Tierney hasn’t yet reached the point where he regards playing for Celtic as work. It’s more like a calling. Or a vocation.
‘Everyone around me is the same — my full life is Celtic,’ he said.
‘I can’t remember anything without it.
‘Even though I started playing football at seven, I can’t really remember anything before that and it’s always been about Celtic for me. It’s not a chore for me. I hope that never comes when I regard it as work.
‘I look up to Broony (Scott Brown) and he doesn’t call it work either, he just loves football, playing and training. So, hopefully, I can aspire to be like him.’
An appreciation for what he has was bolstered by a broken leg at the age of 17.
Having been named on the firstteam bench for the very first time, the thrill wore off quickly when he suffered the fracture in training within the next 24 hours.
He admitted: ‘I went from the highest I had ever been to the lowest the next day. It made me a better player and hungrier.’
Nevertheless, every player has his limits. Tierney was as startled as everyone else by stats showing he has played the most minutes of any outfield player in 2017-18.
His match fitness is better than it has ever been, but the price has been a moderate shading-off of form echoed throughout the team.
He continues to be linked with clubs of the ilk of Manchester United, but takes all that stuff in his stride.
‘When top clubs are said to be showing an interest, it’s flattering because it means you’re doing something right,’ he said.
‘It’s good to see stuff like that, but I’ve just signed one of the longest-term deals at this club and I could not be happier with it. I was buzzing when it came.
‘I’ve been here for 13 years now and that’s a long time.’
He is bright enough to see the next question coming and wise enough to choose his words carefully when asked if he could see himself spending the rest of his career at Celtic.
‘If it was up to me, I wouldn’t put it past me (staying forever).
‘It could happen. But anything could happen...’