CELTIC fans had no difficulty taking Kenny Dalglish to their hearts after he broke through at Parkhead in the late 1960s despite his well-known allegiance to their city rivals Rangers as a boy.

Yet, Dalglish appreciates that when a player emerges who has, at one time, sat in the stands cheering on the team himself, he always holds a special place in the affection of supporters.

That has certainly been the case with Kieran Tierney, the teenage left back who has established himself as a first team regular under Ronny Deila this season, in recent months.

There will certainly be no doubting the new Scotland internationalist’s commitment to their cause if, as seems a certainty, he starts in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden this Sunday.

Great things are expected of the Isle of Man-born defender – the youngest player to be capped by this country in over 50 years – in the future and Dalglish can understand why.

“He’s had a good year,” he said at Hampden yesterday as he looked ahead to the Old Firm game this weekend. “He only came in three months into the season and he’s done really well.

“He recovered well after making a mistake against Motherwell at the weekend there. He went up the pitch and made two goals. So he looks good, he looks comfortable, competent, he’s got a good bit of pace and his distribution is good as well."

Dalglish added: “The fans can relate to him. They might know his auntie or uncle or they went to school with his sister or brother. If you can get fans in your team it’s much better for the club - as long as they can play.

“Fans take to that. Kieran will understand the Old Firm game because he has lived in this region and was a supporter, but there won’t be any of the players there that don’t understand it. They’ll know what a Rangers game stands for, what it is and what to expect. Whether they can handle it or not remains to be seen."

Dalglish, who himself made his international debut at the tender age of just 19 in a Euro 1972 qualifier against Belgium in 1971, is encouraged by Tierney and the other young Scottish players who are emerging.

“Rangers appear to have brought a few good young players through - although you can’t judge them until next year when they’re in the top league,” he said.

“Look at the ones that went down to England and have started to play, they have not done badly. They have done alright from where we were to where we are now. I think it’s a vast improvement in Scottish football in the national team.”

Many Scotland supporters would like to see Leigh Griffiths, who took his tally for the season to 37 with his double in the 2-1 win over Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday, start up front ahead of Steven Fletcher in the national team.

However, Dalglish, who is the joint record scorer for his country alongside Denis Law with 30 goals, appreciates the demands of international football are different from those of the club game.

He was heartened by how Gordon Strachan’s side performed in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign despite their failure to reach the finals in France this summer and feels Griffiths may, despite his impressive strike rate this term, still not be the best attacking option.

“Leigh has 37 goals and that is a fantastic return for anyone during a season, isn’t it?” he said. “He’s up there in attack n his own a lot of the time and he’s produced what he has had to produce. He is doing what he has to do and it’ll be interesting to see how he goes on Sunday.

“He’s been a striker all of his life and you play to your strengths. If your strengths are scoring goals and you are comfortable in front of goal, you are going to be rewarded, especially playing for Celtic with the opportunities you are going to get.

“But Scotland games are a little bit different to the Celtic ones. Celtic have a huge amount of advantage with possession in games and Scotland don’t get that. You have to step up and there is a step up in class.

“There is going to be a reduction in the number of chances you are going to get. The better quality you play against, the more difficult it is to score a goal.

“You’ll get there somehow to score goals, but you still need the ball and if Scotland are not providing the ammunition, it is tough to score.

“Scotland’s performances in qualification were brilliant and they were unfortunate not to qualify, so they are not doing too badly and it’s good for Gordon he has the options.

“There are three or four strikers as a choice, but I think Griffiths thrives on the club he is playing with and the chances he gets presented with."

Kenny Dalglish was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is the proud sponsor of the Scottish Cup.