Rodgers reckons Celtic teen Tierney will reach the very top
qualifier against either Flora Tallinn of Lincoln Red Imps with Rodgers particularly excited at what he seen from Tierney.
“Everything [stood out],” he said. “Attitude, he’s 19 years of age, quicker than what I thought, I had only seen him on the telly in highlights and clips but when you see him close up, he’s a super athlete, strong, quick, balanced, aggressive, has a wonderful left foot.
“He will get better, he still has bits to improve, he defends, he’s hard to beat, he wants to go forward, he is a good size, and personality.”
Tierney’s impressive debut season did not go unnoticed south of the border with Arsenal believed to have been keeping tabs on him. The player signed a four-year extension to his contract in August of last year, but it could be that in order to keep other clubs at bay that Celtic offer him increased terms again.
If the trajectory of his career continues in the same vein it is inevitable that he will eventually move on from Celtic but Rodgers believes that the player is better off served playing regular first- team football as he matures into his position. “Listen the club are well under way with that,” he said with regards to another deal for the teenager. “The kid will be a top player. He needs to be where he is now. He’s at a top club. If you’re an 18 year old player and you’re playing for Glasgow Celtic and you’re playing in the way that we will go to work, it’s the ideal place for him to be.
“What then happens in two, three, four years, whatever, we will see. But at this moment in time he’s best suited at this club and he’s very happy to be here in the conversations I’ve had. He’s a wonderful talent.”
The failings of the national team and the lack of European progression in recent seasons in domestic football have created an atmosphere of gloom around the game in Scotland, but Rodgers has maintained that Tierney is the continuation of a long list of talent that the country has produced – and, more importantly, is capable of producing.
“I grew up seeing top Scottish players,” he said. “I looked at Alan Johnston there, for example. He would probably never remember it, but I remember being at Manchester United as a young player when he was there. He was 13 years of age and now he’s like me – old and starting to lose the hair a wee bit. But I remember down the years being at a club like Liverpool where they had a wonderful tradition of Scottish players. So the talent is there. Socially it is different now but there is no doubt the country has talent.
“It is just about honing it and making it work. You have an outstanding national team manager in Gordon Strachan, who can develop players he has coached with Mark McGhee. These are guys who will give them every chance to develop.
Kieran Tierney is the perfect example of that.I look at the other guys as well. Some of the young kids in the training sessions, with their intensity and tempo, dealt with it really well. And that’s to sessions I put on at the very top level of the game.
“And it’s not all about the talent. You also have to have the personality to succeed. That will determine whether your talent is wasted or not.”
The kid will be a top player...atthis moment he’s best suited at this club