TRY telling Kieran Tierney the Europa League doesn’t count and he’ll gently remind you this competition launched his Celtic career.
It was a disappointing night on October 1, 2015 when Ronny Deila’s team were comfortably 2-0 up on Fenerbahce when a calamitous mistake from Efe Ambrose allowed the Turkish side to score before half-time – they had done little up to then – and it was 2-2 minutes soon after the break.
The game ended in a draw, Deila and his defence came in for criticism, but there had been one positive. The 18-year-old left-back enjoyed one hell of a game.
Tierney had played a few before this night, it was his first start in Europe, but he showed up really well on a far from easy evening. Within a few weeks he was a first pick. A lot has happened to him over those three years.
“It was my fourth or fifth game and I never thought I’d be starting,” admitted Tierney yesterday as he looked back on a significant moment in his career.
“I did pretty well and from there I got my chance. It was Ronny Deila who gave me the opportunity and I thank him for that.
“I would say that was the night it really started for me as a first team player for Celtic. I didn’t play every game after that but he (Deila) trusted me in big games after it. Emilio (Izaguirre) got a red card in a game soon afterwards, so I played in more European games. That was the one that kick-started it for me.
“I remember the build-up when I was being shown video clips of Nani and Robin van Persie - I was thinking ‘you’re joking!’. No chance!
“I was up against Nani in the first half, then he switched wings. It was some game to come into and after that my confidence grew. It gave me belief that I could play in Europe and I just wanted more of it.”
Tierney has enjoyed a lot more of it since then and is now one of the most recognisable faces in Glasgow and beyond. Not that this is a problem.
He is 21, has seven major honours, a ridiculous amount of individual trophies and has captained Celtic and Scotland, but he is more or less the same young man.
It is always refreshing to hear him talk without pretence or weariness about life as a Celtic player. He remains a competition winner. Let’s hope that doesn’t change.
Tuesday night saw him at the Celtic Musical in Glasgow which, of course, he loved.
He said: “It was class, to be fair. I would recommend it to everybody. Somebody asked me if I had been watching the Champions League but I said: ‘no chance! I was at the musical
“Nobody had to twist my arm to go along. I was dying to go. I had to beg Celtic for tickets for me and my mates. I will probably try and go again.”
And a night out means posing for selfies signing for autographs and signing anything fans can get their hands on. All of it down with a smile.
Tierney said: “That doesn’t bother me. Not one bit. The club asked if I would be alright getting tickets for myself because there will be hundreds of Celtic fans there. I said: ‘of course I will.’
“People asking for autographs and selfies is brilliant. When I was younger that’s what I wanted - to be recognised as a Celtic player. They could be 50 or a four year old boy, it’s amazing the number of people who want pictures. I’m just grateful for everything.”
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