Celtic graduate Tierney has learned a worthwhile trade
Scotland full-back did well to ignore advice from his careers adviser at school
HEN Kieran Tierney was asked by a careers officer what he wanted to be when he grew up, there was no doubt in the young lad’s mind. His school, Our Lady’s High in Motherwell, has produced a fair few football players over the years. Matt Busby, Billy McNeill and Bobby Murdoch are just three to mention.
Tierney’s talent was spotted at an early age by former Celtic captain Paul McStay’s father, John, but no teacher is going to indulge a fantasy. After all, how many truly make it?
“I remember when I was at school and I was picking my subjects we had to put down what we wanted to do as a job. I always picked football,” recalled Tierney, fresh from an impressive display in the Champions League against Manchester City.
“But the teachers told me I couldn’t do that and I should write down ‘joiner’ or something like that. I always chose football though. I’d been playing for Celtic for six years by that point and someone was saying I couldn’t play football!
“It’s just what I wanted to do. My mum [Gail] is actually a dinner lady at the school so she always gets asked how I’m doing and I’ve been back doing awards ceremonies and stuff. It’s been good.”
On the playing side it has been even better than that. Tierney, 19, is a league winner with Celtic, he made his 50th appearance in midweek when he showed up well against Raheem Sterling – whose transfer fee is £1m for every game his marker has played – and he’s in the Scotland squad.
He doesn’t drink, still lives at home and hangs out with the same pals he’s always had. Tierney hasn’t put a foot wrong and the way he speaks can even make a room of cynical hacks nod their head in admiration and mumble that he’s “got a hell of a chance” once the interview ends.
In saying all that, Tierney is clearly too much of a superstar to help about the house.
“I try to do the same things,” he says. “A few people want pictures and stuff, but apart from that it’s just normal for me. I still live at home with my mum and dad.
“It’s just the easiest thing for me. It saves me cooking and doing the washing and ironing. My mum has been great. She’s never on to me to tidy my room, so it’s ideal really. To be fair my dig money has gone slightly up, but I don’t mind that. It takes a wee bit of pressure off them.”
Tommy Burns once said that he was a Celtic fan that got lucky. As is this similarly left-footed talent. It is part of why the supporters have taken to him.
“I try not to think about it too much. I try to keep level headed and see where it takes me,” said Tierney. “My family keep saying they can’t believe it. It’s good for me and it makes me happy to make my family proud. It’s what every young player dreams of.”
In the battle between Sterling and Tierney on Wednesday night, the Englishman probably won. Just. But it was another example of how far the Celtic man has come on. He still managed to set up two goals, he’s claiming the Sterling own goal, and was as much a threat in attack against City as he was in the Kilmarnock match four days earlier.
“Myself and everyone else inside Celtic Park celebrated like it was my goal, so I’ll take that,” said Tierney with a grin. “As long as it went in, I wasn’t really caring. But I won’t correct anyone who congratulates me on scoring it! Sterling deflected it and it went in.
“He is one of the world’s best wingers and one of the fastest guys in football. I felt I did okay.”
Something most people don’t know is that in December 2014, just as he had begun training with the first-team and was on the verge of making his debut, Tierney’s career was put on hold because of a serious injury.
“I broke my leg just after breaking through to the first team,” he said.
“My confidence was so high and I’d had a taste of it. When I got back I was so hungry to get back there again. It was a reality check.
“I was only out for six to eight weeks, which wasn’t long for a leg break, so it all worked out well.”
It has all worked out a lot better than that.
TeacherstoldmeIcouldn’tdothatandIshouldwrite down‘joiner’orsomethinglikethat. Ialwayschose footballthough. I’dbeenplayingforCelticforsixyears