Tierney wants normal service resumed
Tierney is hoping normal service will be resumed after Celtic’s Jekyll and Hyde start to season
ON a torrid August night in ancient Athens, Celtic saw their defence and their Champions League dreams reduced to ruins.
Days earlier, the double-Treble winners had crumbled in the capital, tasting defeat to tabletopping Hearts at Tynecastle in just their second match of the Premiership season.
With Brendan Rodgers openly unsatisfied with the club’s transfer business and leading players Moussa Dembele and Dedryck Boyata agitating for a move, the opening of the new campaign proved unexpectedly fraught for the Scottish champions.
Kieran Tierney is in no doubt that Celtic’s start to Rodgers’ third season in charge has not been up to scratch.
But some of the gathering storm clouds were blown away with a commanding 1-0 Old Firm win over Rangers at Parkhead hot on the heels of qualification for the Europa League.
Tierney now wants the recovery process to continue with a victory over St Mirren tomorrow night that would hoist Celtic level — for 24 hours at least — with early pacesetters Hearts.
That would be the perfect way to prepare for an assault on the Europa League that starts with the arrival of Rosenborg in Glasgow as the curtain goes up on Group B.
‘How would I sum up the season so far? We know we could have done a lot better, especially in the Champions League,’ reflected Tierney.
‘It was a particularly sore one in Athens because we had the quality to beat AEK but didn’t use it and that was the most disappointing thing.
‘We are now in the Europa League group stage, which is the next big thing for us.
‘We can look forward to these matches against Rosenborg, Leipzig and Salzburg.
‘It is something different and although it is a disappointment that it is not the Champions League, they are still games to look forward to.
‘All three teams are decent sides and will offer us different tests.
‘We want to go out and do well and get as far as we can in the tournament.
‘But the first aim is to get back on top of the table — and then stay there as long as possible.
‘We will take it one game at a time and that first game is against St Mirren on Friday.
‘We will be looking to take the three points at their place and then try and go on the kind of run we are capable of.’
St Mirren will be boosted by the presence of new manager Oran Kearney in the dugout.
The little-known 40-year-old Northern Irishman was hired to replace Alan Stubbs, whose disastrous tenure as successor to Jack Ross was halted after just four league games.
‘You always get a bounce with a new manager,’ said Tierney.
‘The players will be wanting to do well and they will be out to impress him to try and get in his team going forward.
‘So it will be a tough game. St Mirren did well in winning the Championship last season and, although they have changed their manager (twice) since then, they already have points on the board this season. That shows they have something about them.’
After Dembele took to social media to slate his employers, Celtic made the decision to sell the Frenchman to Lyon for £20million ahead of the first Old Firm game of the season.
Rangers travelled to Parkhead awash with positivity on the back of reaching the Europa League group stages under Steven Gerrard. But the Ibrox side were second best all afternoon.
The sale of the talismanic Dembele, a regular thorn in the Rangers defence, proved no gamble by Rodgers or his board.
Tierney said: ‘Everybody was talking about Rangers but we kept quiet and did our talking where it matters most, on the park. ‘We played really well against Rangers and on another day we could have scored a few more. I don’t think anyone could have argued with the final outcome. ‘The quality was there even without Dembele — there is quality in the squad and in every position. ‘But that is Celtic for you. If you are not working hard enough or playing to your best, then there will always be somebody else waiting to take your place. ‘There is no room for complacency at Celtic and that is what makes us a top team. It is why every Celtic player aspires to be the best they can be.’
Tierney was speaking after Scotland got their Nations League campaign off to a fine start with a 2-0 win over Albania at Hampden on Monday night.
His club boss, Rodgers, was at the national stadium to see a team with strong Celtic connections as Tierney was joined on the pitch by Callum McGregor, Leigh Griffiths and Stuart Armstrong, who left Parkhead for Southampton in the summer.
For Tierney, the result and the character on show in the team proved the perfect pick-me-up after an error-strewn 4-0 home loss to World Cup semi-finalists Belgium on Friday night.
‘The manager was watching and he and all his coaches are playing their part,’ said Tierney. ‘We are all looking to bring our qualities from Celtic to the national team. Other players will bring their own things.
‘Together we bring different qualities to the team and the manager has to make it work.
‘And I think we did that against Albania.
‘It was brilliant and a lot better than against Belgium on Friday. It was a good start to the Nations League campaign.
‘I was asked before the game if Albania was a must-win match.
‘But I would say that just about every match you play for Scotland and Celtic is a must-win. We were at home against Albania and we were expected to win.
‘There was pressure on us but we showed our character and our qualities to produce a good result.’