THE VICTORS OF VILNIUS...
Tierney sees benefits of Celtic connection within national team as Scots get campaign on track
TIERNEY IS BUOYED BY CLUB COMFORTS Pages 2-3
WHEN Kieran Tierney is scattering around some choice Brendan Rodgers catchphrases just minutes following a Scotland victory, you know that the Celtic influence runs deep through this national team’s resurgence.
Scotland were ‘thinking with one brain’ in Vilnius, according to Tierney, whose display at rightback was his third consecutive — and successful — competitive international appearance out of his natural position.
All helped, the 20-year-old concedes, by the fact he enjoyed the support of five club colleagues at ease with their surroundings, thriving on the pressure of the must-win situation and playing a different sport to the one that was an affront to purist eyes when Lithuania visited Glasgow last autumn.
‘A Championship game of who won the most headers’ was how Gordon Strachan described that miserable 1-1 draw, rescued by a late James McArthur goal. Really, that is no place for any Brendan Rodgers player. And it wasn’t — none featured.
In fact, Tierney was the only starting Celtic star in that awful October double-header which was rounded off by a stinking 3-0 reverse in Slovakia. This time, there were six. And this after the squad announcement had been dominated by the omission of ‘the seventh Celt’, Callum McGregor.
But, then, much has changed since the wheels almost came off Scotland on the road to Russia. Scott Brown was unavailable by his own choice, concerned about wear and tear on his fitness and fearing that playing for Scotland would impinge on By Fraser Mackie impressions to be made for Celtic and his new club manager.
Stuart Armstrong had not yet emerged as the energetic midfield pulse of so many Parkhead performances.
Leigh Griffiths had lost his place to Moussa Dembele and not come up to scratch by the standards set by the new club boss.
Craig Gordon was recovering from being dropped for Dorus de Vries, while James Forrest lost out in the national tean to Oliver Burke.
Three trophies, a Champions League campaign, an unbeaten domestic season and a year working under Rodgers later, the trick of having guys who don’t lose football matches filling the national team has brought a shift in momentum to the Scotland scene.
The Celtic sextet started the 1-0 victory over Slovenia, then only Forrest missed out as a precious point was earned against England.
Strachan used the word energy so many times after prevailing 3-0 in Vilnius — with all six back in from the off — that he should have undergone a FIFA drugs test for overuse of Red Bull in the technical area.
Celtic’s streak and fitness edge brings so much of that to an international stage now set for a dramatic conclusion to World Cup qualifying. Tierney said: ‘The last few games there have been a lot of us in, and that’s been great for me to play with familiar faces around me.
‘We know each other’s games and I think the results show that it’s working, which is great for the whole country.
‘If there’s a winning mentality in the majority of the team, that’s good. That’s what you want.
‘The last few results have been great and, hopefully, we can go and do the same against Malta.
‘We go into every game confident we can do the job. There’s pressure on every single game right now but on Friday we went out and dealt with that pressure in good style.
‘We were in control most of the game. They had their spells, every team does, but I thought 3-0 was deserved. There’s a few young players in the team and that’s great for everybody in the country, knowing that, hopefully, they’ll be there for years to come. As a unit we looked strong.’ Scotland crafted openings in an assured start that betrayed the knife-edge nature of the task on a plastic pitch, with five shots straying just off target. So, when Armstrong connected with a Griffiths corner to power home his first Scotland goal on 25 minutes, then Andrew Robertson followed up in stylish fashion five minutes later, the unusual situation of a comfortable lead on the road was merited and professionally protected in front of a 2,500-strong Tartan Army.
In the country where Jackie McNamara conceded a soft penalty in a Euro 2004 qualifying defeat, two of his Dundee United proteges had exorcised a ghost for him. McArthur’s dogged response to a personally
If there is a winning mentality in the majority of the team, then that’s good. That is what you want
dodgy opening quarter of an hour was rewarded with the third goal on 72 minutes.
‘It was a great performance from us all,’ declared Tierney. ‘It was a tough thing to come and play on that pitch, trust me. But we all coped with it. The tempo was really good. We had a few shots early on and got the fans going.
‘It gives you confidence when you come to an away ground and most of the support is yours.
‘We were disappointed with the draw in the first game at Hampden. We knew we could have done better.
‘This time, we’ve come away with three points and a clean sheet. And, on that pitch, one of the main things is there were no injuries.’
Liverpool new boy Robertson, the only starting Scotland survivor from the nations’ meeting 11 months ago to suit up at the LFF Stadium, forced Tierney on to the right. That wasn’t a surprise as the Celtic defender, tipped to play centre-half for Scotland by Rodgers, had already featured on the outside of a back three and on the right in this campaign.
‘It was a great goal and he’s a great player,’ said Tierney of Robertson. ‘Wherever I’m told to play, I’ll do my best for the team, whether it’s rightback, centre-back or even on the bench. I’ll always be a team player.
‘It’s a good thing, being so young and with these games being so big, that the manager trusts me being out of position. Especially in defence. If you’re a winger and you switch wings it’s maybe not as hard.
‘Left-back to right-back is a big ask. The first time I did it was in a World Cup qualifier, but it gives me confidence that the manager believes in me. Friday was only my second game there.
‘It’s been 15 years and I’m still not used to left-back yet, never mind rightback! I’m doing my best there for the team. Everyone knows I’m working my hardest and that’s all I can do.’