KIERAN Tierney admits he's had to leartn to deal with the pressure of Celtic fans expecting him to be ‘brilliant’ in every game.

Still 21, he will play his 153rd game for the Parkhead club, his 23rd of this season, at Dens Park tonight and it is his consistency which has made him such a vital player in the Brendan Rodgers’s era.

Tierney doesn't have many bad performances against his name, he’s been one of the few Celtic players to regularly to stand up even in the European defeats, but with such consistency comes an expectation almost impossible to love up to.

Tierney said: “There have been bad times, more probably after we’ve had a few heavy defeats in Europe. No player likes to be involved in those but it’s stuff that in the long run it makes you more mentally tough.

“The expectation seems to be for me to play every game brilliantly. That’s the expectation. If I play an average game, I’ve played badly, if you know what I mean. But the Celtic fans have been great with me since day one.

“The consistency and loyalty they have shown towards me since day one I can only give back on the pitch and that’s what I try to do

“It helps you to deal with it all a bit better but it’s something you wouldn’t wish on anyone.

“I just try my hardest. That’s the only thing I can do. Whether I play a one out of ten or a seven out of 10, it’s not down to effort.

“If I walk off the pitch after 90 minutes I know I’ve given everything I have. That all I can do, whether or not I’ve played well. That’s the attitude I go with.”

Tierney’s first real brush with criticism was after he scored an own-goal in Scotland colours for Israel on what was a dreadful night for the national team who lose the game and were outplayed.

The Celtic man said: “I probably deserved it, it was a bad mistake. That’s what happens when you are in the firing line - especially at centre-back. Loads of centre backs have scored own goals.

“You are trying to do the right thing, unfortunately it didn’t work out.

“The one I am close to here is John Kennedy. He always says that if you score a hat-trick there is a line you never go above. Just as there is a line you never go below.

You need to stay steady - you don’t want to go too high and you don’t want to get too down. Both can have a negative effect.

“After an own goal or after you beat Rangers that’s not easy. But you cannot let it affect you. It’s something you have to deal with.

“I’m lucky I have a chance to redeem my Scotland mistake and hopefully we can do that.”