You always hurt the one you love. Take Kieran Tierney, who has marginalised the player he once idolised, effectively ending the latter’s Celtic career through to the consistent excellence of his performances since he made the left back berth his own in November.
Emilio Izaguirre contributed to his own downfall. The Honduras World Cup player, who arrived in Glasgow in 2010, gave encouragement and advice to the teenager with an insatiable appetite for both. Now, while he has still to celebrate his 30th birthday, Izaguirre is likely to be considered surplus to requirements by the next Celtic manager because of Tierney’s exponential improvement.
The mentor has been replaced by his tormentor, although Tierney, who has never failed to declare his gratitude for the assistance he received from the older man, would be horrified by that description. “There are a few pictures of me on social media walking around on the lap of honour after Celtic first won the league, with Emilio [in 2012],” he said. “I was only a ball boy at the time. He was my hero when I was growing up and, being a left-back myself, I modelled myself on him.”
Fittingly, for someone who intends to spend his entire playing career with his first senior club, Tierney was discovered for Celtic by John McStay, the father of Paul, who made 683 appearances for the club from 1982 to 1997. The days when the bulk of Celtic’s first team comprised players who had stood on the terraces cheering on the club belong to a sepia-tinted age but Tierney is a throwback and his enthusiasm for the cause has endeared him to an increasingly disenfranchised fan base.
“I used to love going to those games as a ball-boy,” he said. “You would go to the ground really early and hit some shots, then give the players the ball back when they hit their shots during the warm-up. So I know exactly how those boys will be feeling and their dream will be the same as mine were: to go on and play for the first team.”
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Tierney certainly milked the moment when Celtic clinched his first Pemiership title by beating Hearts 3-1 on Saturday. “You would have noticed that I didn’t want to come off the pitch,” he said, sheepishly. “I didn’t want the celebrations to end. It was such an amazing occasion for me. Efe Ambrose did a somersault and Erik Sviatchenko did a dance, but I couldn’t have managed anything without getting a cramp so I decided to leave them to it. Someone had to cool things down after Efe’s backflip; that what’s Callum McGregor’s forward roll was all about.”
Tierney’s elevation continues apace. On March 29 he became the third-youngest player to represent Scotland in the last 127 years when Gordon Strachan gave him his debut in the 1-0 win over Denmark. He admits that there are times when he has to pinch himself to realise that he has achieved so much in such a short space of time, which is understandable when one considers that he had expected to be serving his apprenticeship in the lower divisions.
“I never thought these things could have happened to me, especially at such a young age,” he said. “People say coming through at Celtic is hard and there is no doubt that it is, because it’s a club with such high standards. I was given the chance when I’d probably have expected at this point to still be playing for the Under-20s or, maybe, out on loan at a lower league club somewhere.
“I got a couple of appearances at the end of last season which, as a 17-year-old at Celtic, you can’t complain about at all; you’re over the moon with that. The manager then gave me a game on Flag Day on the opening day of the season and that gave me a taste for it.”
Tierney keen to stay
Kieran Tierney insists he has no intention of leaving Celtic, despite interest from clubs in the Barclay’s Premier League and a glowing endorsement from Kenny Dalglish, the legendary former Celtic and Liverpool player.
During the build-up to Celtic’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers, Dalglish identified Tierney as just about the only player on his first senior club’s books who would undoubtedly interest major clubs south of the border. “I don’t see any current player other than Tierney that Celtic can trade in for decent money, and they’d be better off keeping him,” he said.
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The 18-year-old is simply not interested in moving. “Celtic is my dream club; I have been here for 11 years and I am playing first-team football for the club I grew up supporting,” he said. “I’m loving every minute of it. I tend not to look at stories about me too much, although sometimes you cannot avoid it. I’ve been linked with big clubs but it’s just Celtic for me.
“It’s the dream. I’ve probably used the word ‘dream’ a lot this season, but it really is, for me to be playing in the first team at Celtic. I need to realise how lucky I am to be in this position and I try my best every day to be so grateful for it. When you are a wee guy, you want to grow up and become a Celtic legend. I am miles off that just now because my career has only just started. I just hope I can keep on playing for Celtic; that’s all I want.”
●Celtic yesterday announced Dafabet as their ‘main club sponsor’ in a new four-year agreement which means the Dafabet name will be displayed on the front of the club’s shirts from the start of next season. The leading global brand had already entered into a five-year partnership last season as Celtic’s international betting partner.