AS he sat in the main stand at Parkhead on Saturday evening trying to digest the events of an unforgettable day, Kieran Tierney was unsure if he would be a part of the Celtic squad which flies out of Glasgow for Azerbaijan this afternoon.

The 18-year-old, a player who great things are expected of in the East End of Glasgow, performed with maturity and purpose during the hour or so he was on the park in the Ladbrokes Premiership encounter against Ross County.

But taking part in a league match at home, even one at which the league flag is unfurled before kick-off, is nowhere near as daunting or demanding a proposition to being involved in a Champions League qualifier on which so much hinges for his employers away.

Ronny Deila will prefer Charlie Mulgrew in the second leg of the third qualifying round against FK Qarabag over in Baku if the Scotland internationalist recovers from a knee injury in time, as is possible, or put his faith in Emilio Izaguirre, who was suspended at the weekend, once more.

Still, Tierney shouldn’t be too despondent if he isn’t involved. The pleasant young man from Wishaw - a credit not just to his family but also to the football club he has spent 11 years, more than half of his life, training with and playing for - surely has many more such occasions to look forward to in the future.

The game against Ross County heralded the start of a new domestic season for Celtic. It also marked the beginning of a career of great promise. It was not the first time the kid had been involved. Last term he made one appearance as a substitute and one start. But being given a run-out in such a high-profile fixture was significant and underlined both the high regard he is held in and the potential which he has.

A good left back is a valuable commodity to any football club, especially one so sound defensively and dangerous going forward, and it is surely not the last we have seen of him despite the stiff competition which exists for his place in the starting line-up. He is certainly determined to remain involved.

“I would be delighted if I get picked to play against Qarabag, but there are two good players as well, Emilio and Charlie, so I just hope for the best,” said Tierney. “We have a great team with good players and if we play the way we want to and we can play then we can win and go through.”

He added: “It was great to play against Ross County and even better to get a clean sheet. I only knew I was playing for definite when they put the board up with the starting 11 on the day of the game. I was delighted. It was probably a good thing that I didn’t have more time to prepare, so I wasn’t thinking about it too much.

“Obviously, it was much more physical. In every way possible it was different, and harder, but I just tried to do my best and step up to it. As soon as you play for them you just keep wanting to play. I just have to work hard in training and keep impressing and hopefully he (Deila) can believe in me again.”

The Norwegian would probably have more faith in the teenager than a few of his team mates after a curious performance by Celtic on Saturday. They won by a two goal margin courtesy of a penalty by Leigh Griffiths early on and a well-worked attack which was rounded off by Stefan Johansen later in the first half.

But Jim McIntrye’s side was unlucky not to equalise at 1-0 after Dedryck Boyata had gifted them possession with a misplaced pass. Jackson Irvine was brought down by Craig Gordon after he had broken clear and was advancing into the Celtic penalty area.

There was much consternation in the Ross County camp about Willie Collum’s decision just to caution the Celtic goalkeeper for that infringement. Irvine, though, was heading towards the corner flag, not bearing down on goal, so it was far from being an obvious goalscoring opportunity. The match official was correct to not to produce his red card.

County didn’t allow the decision to deter them. They performed better in the second 45 minutes and Gordon did superbly to deny a volley from substitute Raffaele De Vita. If the Highlanders continue to acquit themselves so robustly in the months ahead it is doubtful they will find themselves embroiled in another relegation dogfight.

“In the second half, we asked the players to show more belief, especially in the final third, and get bodies forward,” said McIntrye. “Craig Gordon had a few saves to make so it was a far better performance."

Having been far from impressive in their narrow 1-0 triumph over Qarabag in last Wednesday night, Celtic were once again not at their very best on Saturday. In their defence, it is early in the season and the slackness in their play can be attributed to rustiness after the summer break. But they will be punished more ruthlessly if there is a repeat this week.

The involvement of Leigh Griffiths, who limped off with a minor knock in the first half, and Kris Commons, who impressed in his second game back after injury , will be important to their prospects of advancing to the group stages.