Taylor’s only sin is that he’s NOT Kieran Tierney

PRIOR to a lifechanging £25million move to Arsenal last summer, Kieran Tierney could do no wrong in the eyes of Celtic supporters.

Master of all he surveyed in the Scottish Premiership, he was the undisputed Golden Bhoy during one of the most successful periods in the club’s history.

Celtic fans saw him as one of their own and, as he racked up trophy after trophy, Tierney looked like a young man who could walk on water.

By contrast, Greg Taylor must feel like he’s being left to drown in the aftermath — and that’s regardless of what he actually does on the pitch.

It’s starting to feel like he can’t do right for doing wrong. Hardly a week goes past now without some Celtic fans getting on his case and slaughtering his performances.

It seems like that’s now the default position for a growing section of the support. It has perhaps escaped their attention, however, that Taylor is putting together some decent numbers.

In laying on Ryan Christie’s goal in Saturday’s victory over Livingston, he now has four assists in eight games in all competitions this season.

Three of those have come in the league. For context, no other Premiership player has more assists.

Yet, it seems like regardless of what Taylor does, he’ll never be good enough in the eyes of some supporters. I can’t help but feel a degree of sympathy for the boy.

He’s getting a raw deal from the Celtic fans at the moment and I reckon they should be giving him more of a chance and helping to build his confidence.

Taylor is still only 22. He’s a young boy who has gone from playing for Kilmarnock every week to trying to establish himself at the biggest team in the country.

He’s now at a club where he has to win every single week and where he’s expected to develop his game to be more of a threat in the attacking third.

That’s in stark contrast to what he was being asked to do at Killie. He played in a flat back four there in a team who excelled at stifling the opposition and keeping clean sheets.

That’s night and day from what he’s being asked to do at the moment as a left wing-back in Neil Lennon’s new 3-5-2 system.

But, all in all, he’s making a pretty decent fist of it. Celtic fans need to stop constantly comparing him to Tierney. That comparison is neither fair nor helpful. Tierney is one of the best left-backs in Europe. Nobody is trying to say Taylor is at that level, but that’s not to say he’s not a good player.

It would be unfair for him to spend the rest of his Celtic career living in Tierney’s shadow, but that’s the narrative some fans are intent on creating.

They view him as an easy target. They criticise him purely because of the fact he’s not Kieran Tierney. Sorry, but that’s a cheap shot and an easy stick to beat him with.

Football can be a fickle beast at times. From the boy who could do no wrong, Tierney recently admitted he now feels like a persona non grata at Celtic Park after leaving.

Fans can change their opinions on players. For Taylor’s sake, I hope the Celtic supporters are willing to cut him a bit more slack and give him more of a chance to grow into the team.

If they’re looking to have a go at someone, then you’d have to say the performances of Mohamed Elyounoussi would warrant greater scrutiny.

The Norwegian winger is yet to score in seven league appearances so far this season.

He has started the last three matches on the bench — and didn’t get on at all against St Mirren last week.

He doesn’t look the same player we saw terrorising defences last season and Elyounoussi might well end up being the most high-profile casualty if Lennon persists with a 3-5-2 system. I just don’t see where the on-loan Southampton star fits in.

He excelled last season in a 4-2-3-1 playing as a winger cutting in from the left. You can afford to do that when you’ve got a full-back bombing past you on the overlap.

But it’s a totally different kettle of fish when you’re the wing-back asked to provide all of the width. You can’t be cutting inside or else the team loses its width and balance.

At this moment in time, Taylor is the standout choice on the left-hand side. Lennon will no doubt look to reinforce that area of the team before the transfer window closes.

But, whoever comes in, it would be wrong to view them as an automatic replacement for Taylor. He’s earned his spot in the team and is showing an admirably thick skin.