There’s a general feeling that Celtic will want to win the Ladbrokes Premiership title this weekend with a bit of style, a touch of flair and a sprinkling of flamboyance.
Let’s face it, having the enticing opportunity to wrap up a seventh consecutive league crown by beating your oldest rivals is akin to having Mr Kipling himself pop round to put the icing on the cake.
For Kieran Tierney, however, Sunday’s tussle with Rangers is not necessarily about putting on a show. It’s about getting a job done.
Read more: Barry Ferguson: Rangers were so bad against Celtic I wasn't even angry, just sad
“I don’t care how we do it as long as we win it,” said the 20-year-old. “In seasons down the line, it’s not who you win the league against that goes in the history books, it’s the fact you won it. Listen, we always want to play the Celtic way but with these games that doesn’t always happen.”
When you’re gulping the celebratory champagne in this results-driven business, it’s doesn’t matter how you get the cork out of the bottle.
Celtic are on the cusp of toasting another significant conquest while the individual accolades could come flooding in too with Tierney nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year and Scott Brown and James Forrest on the shortlist for the Premiership Player of the Year.
After last season’s campaign of invincibility on the home front which spawned a domestic treble, Celtic are still on course to complete an historic trinity of triumphs again this season, even if some hard-to-please observers have suggested that this one has not been achieved with the same level of pizzazz.
“Last season was a season in a lifetime,” reasoned Tierney, who is also aiming for a trio of Young Player of the Year gongs. “Has anyone ever achieved the kind of consistency we did last season? You are never going to do that again.
Read more: Scotland manager Alex McLeish will take certain Celtic players on the controversial summer tour
“Of course, we would have liked to have played better in a lot of games this season. We know we can do better, but comparing it to last year is unfair. Last year was a fairytale, it was so good.
“To achieve that again would have been unbelievable. But we are still going for back-to-back trebles, which is incredible. In my very first season we won the league, the next season we won the treble.
“There is a big difference between the two. Every year has been different for me and that would be the case for all the players. At Celtic you are expected to win all the games you play. You are expected to win all the cups. We are doing our very best to do that again.”
In the aftermath of Celtic’s most recent victory over Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final, affairs at the Ibrox club descended into the kind of bickering, unedifying palaver that would have made the Jeremy Kyle Show look like a shimmering example of dignity and decorum.
In the build up to the latest instalment of this Glasgow rivalry, some are anticipating another Celtic rout. Others are looking for a Rangers reaction.
Read more: Barry Ferguson: Rangers were so bad against Celtic I wasn't even angry, just sad
“They know themselves they have to (produce a performance),” added Tierney.
Given his tender years, Tierney’s memories of Celtic and Rangers tussles are hardly buried in the archives. The raking drive by Shunsuke Nakamura in a 2-1 for Celtic in 2011 is still etched on his mind.
“That was the kind of goal you try to score in the park when you’re small, but you don’t succeed,” he said. “You could try that a thousand times but a goal like that will never be repeated.”
Funnily enough, though, Tierney’s own pile driver from distance against Kilmarnock at the start of the campaign won Celtic’s goal of the season award recently.
“That was a surprise, a 40 yarder,” he said with a smile. “A goal on Sunday would maybe surpass that but I just love scoring goals for Celtic and when I do I will celebrate the same against anybody.
“Whether I score against Partick Thistle, Aberdeen or Kilmarnock, I have celebrated every goal exactly the same way.”
That statement may be put to the test on Sunday if he curls a 30 yarder into the postage stamp in injury time to win the league ...
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