WHEN Kieran Tierney was asked by a careers officer wanted he wanted to be when he grew up there was no doubt in the lad’s mind.
His school, Our Lady’s High in Motherwell, has produced a fair few football players over the years. Matt Busby, Billy McNeill and Bobby Murdoch are just three you could mention.
However, as good as the kid was at kicking a ball about a park, and Tierney’s talent was spotted at an early age by Paul McStay’s dad John no less, no teacher is going to indulge a fantasy. After all, how many truly make it?
“I remember when I was at school and I was picking my subjects we had to put down what we wanted to do as a job. I always picked football,” recalled Tierney fresh from another impressive display in the Champions League against Manchester City.
“But the teachers told me I couldn't do that and I should write down ‘joiner’ or something like that. I always chose football though. I’d been playing for Celtic for six years by that point and someone was saying I couldn’t play football!
“I wasn’t out to prove anyone wrong, it’s just what I wanted to do. My mum (Gail) is actually a dinner lady at the school so she always gets asked how I’m doing and I’ve been back doing awards ceremonies and stuff. It’s been good.”
Good? It’s been a bit better than that. Tierney is 19, a league winner with Celtic, he made his 50th appearance the other night when he showed up well against Raheem Sterling whose transfer fee is £1m for every game his marker has played, and he’s in the Scotland squad.
He doesn’t drink, still lives at home and hangs out with the same pals he’s always had. Tierney hasn't put a foot wrong and the way he speaks can even make a room of cynical hacks nod their head in admiration and mumble that he’s “got a hell of a chance” once the interview ends.
In saying all that, Tierney is clearly too much of a superstar to help about the house.
“I try to do the same things,” he says. “A few people want pictures and stuff, but apart from that it’s just normal for me. I still live at home with my mum and dad.
“It’s just the easiest thing for me. It saves me cooking and doing the washing and ironing. My mum has been great. She’s never on to me to tidy my room, so it’s ideal really. To be fair my dig money has gone slightly up, but I don’t mind that. It takes a wee bit of pressure off them.”
Tommy Burns once said that he was a Celtic fan that got lucky. As is this similarly left-footed talent. It is why the supporters have taken to him. After all he is one of their own.
“I try not to think about it too much. I try to keep level headed and see where it takes me,” said Tierney. “My family keep saying they can’t believe it. It’s mad really. Everyone dreams of this but you never really expect it. Everyone is happy and proud. It’s good for me and it makes me happy to make my family proud.
“It’s what every young player dreams of. I’m playing for the club I love and I’ve also got the chance to represent my country. Hopefully things keep going well and I will be working hard to make sure they do.”
In the battle between Sterling and Tierney on Wednesday night, the Englishman probably won. Just. It was another example of how far the Celtic man has come on. On a tense night he still managed to set-up two goals, he’s claiming the Sterling OG, and was as much a threat in attack against City as he was in the Kilmarnock match four days earlier.
“Myself and everyone else inside Celtic Park celebrated like it was my goal, so I’ll take that,” said Tierney with a grin. “I didn’t notice the name of the scorer changing on the scoreboard, but someone told me afterwards. As long as it went in, I wasn’t really caring.
“But I won’t correct anyone who congratulates me on scoring it! I just tried to hit it towards the back post and make sure it beat the goalkeeper. Sterling deflected it and it went in.
“He is one of the world’s best wingers and one of the fastest guys in football. So it was a great experience for me to play against him. I felt I did okay. He is a £50 million player, so he is going to get crosses in and do good stuff in the game. You expect that. But I tried my best against him and hopefully did okay.”
Something most people don’t know is that in December 2014, just as he had begun training with the first-team and was on the verge of making his debut, Tierney's career was put on hold because of a serious injury.
"I broke my leg just after breaking through to the first team," he said. "I was on the bench for the first time on the 27th and broke my leg on the 28th. I’ve always said it was probably a good time to break my leg.
“My confidence was so high and I’d had a taste of it. When I got back I was so hungry to get back there again. It was a reality check. It can happen to anyone at any time.
“It happened to me and I just tried to work as hard as I could in the gym. I was only out for six to eight weeks, which wasn’t long for a leg break, so it all worked out well.”
It has worked out a lot better than that.
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