MOTHERWELL manager Stephen Robinson believes that Kieran Tierney’s move to Arsenal can be a ‘game-changer’ for Scottish football as our clubs look to get full value for their talent.
The £25m that the Gunners splashed out to bring one of Celtic’s key assets south was the very least he was worth according to Robinson, and he hopes that English clubs will now treat players from the Scottish leagues with the respect they deserve.
Motherwell themselves showed they will no longer be a soft touch earlier this summer as Celtic and Norwich City vied to secure the signature of David Turnbull, with Robinson believing that Scottish talent has long been undervalued.
While he has no doubt that Tierney will flourish in the Premier League though, he doesn’t think his departure will hand his own side any advantage in today’s lunchtime clash at Fir Park.
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“Kieran wasn’t playing recently anyway, but he’s obviously a top, top talent and he’s signed for one of the top clubs in the English Premier League,” said Robinson.
“He’ll obviously be a loss for Celtic, but they have new signings in and they have done really well in the qualifiers. So, I don’t think it will have any effect on them at all in the short-term.
“I’m not surprised by the fee involved because when you see the money that some players are going for down in England, the Scottish league is undervalued. That’s usually through ignorance, because people have maybe seen one game in 10 years.
“It doesn’t surprise me the value of Kieran Tierney in any way, shape or form. If I had £25m then I would pay £25m for him.
“I think the Scottish game is very much on the up, and I think we’ve got true value for one of the top players in the league.
“Kieran Tierney is a top, top talent and he has terrorised us many times unfortunately, but people are starting to recognise there is quality here.
“There are good players, good managers, we are technically very aware, and the profile of the game has been raised by Sky and BT Sport.
“Teams have to be strong. We’re obviously not in Celtic’s position to be as strong as that, but you have to try and get true value for your players.”
Robinson has warned his players that the test that lies ahead this afternoon couldn’t be further away from the one they faced last week away at Livingston.
“I did say to the new players they are going to experience the two extremes of Scottish football,” he said.
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“From the playing surface to the different style of play, that’s what we’ll have to cope with.
“There’s no right way and no wrong way, let me clarify that, you play to the strengths of your team.
“Livingston did that last week and Celtic will do that this week, so you have to cope and adjust every time.
“It’s a big challenge for us. Obviously, it comes very early, but it’s a great challenge and will let us know exactly where we are.
“We go into it very confident, we’ve got players playing very well, but this is obviously a different level and a different test against a very good Celtic side.
“I’ve seen them a few times already this season and the quality doesn’t change.
“Lenny might do things slightly differently to Brendan, but the quality of player doesn’t change and the way they approach games doesn’t change.
“So, it will certainly be a challenge for us, and we will need every player at the top of their game.
“[But] we have an incredible home record, so we’ve nothing to fear. If we go and produce what we can do, we’ve got players in the team who can make things happen.
“It didn’t quite happen last week on the ball and we have to be better than that. The whole game, the occasion and the surface will help with that.
“When we land on that ball we have to make something happen, and we go in with no fear whatsoever.”
Robinson still hopes to add at least one player to his squad in this transfer window, but he reiterated that it would have to be someone who could make an immediate impact on his starting 11.
As for today, he will be without the injured Casper Sloth and Jake Carroll, who starts a retrospective two-game ban after a challenge late on against Livingston last week.
“We got told by seven referees that it would be a red card, so there was no point in appealing,” he said.
“Hopefully those decisions will be consistent.”
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