Tierney: I’m not pulling out of a tackle this Sunday

A year ago Kieran Tierney ditched his crutches and hopped on a bus to Hampden Park to watch the League Cup semi-final, this year he will be aiming to play in his second Cup semi-final for Celtic.

The 18-year-old rise through the Celtic ranks has been a remarkably swift journey and winning against Championship side Rangers would be almost unforgettable for the Hoops fan.

Celtic will meet the Scottish minnows for the second time ever, beating them convincingly in last year’s Scottish League Cup.

Tierney was in the stands that day, having travelled on the Wishaw Emerald supporters bus and will hope to be on the field this Sunday.

As quoted by the Sunday Herald, he said:

I won’t shirk any tackles but it’s also important for me not to get too carried away and end up doing something silly.

It will mean everything but any semi-final would. All the boys know what it means and we know what it takes. It’s a great game to be involved in and hopefully I play. These are the games fans enjoy because the atmosphere will be electric.

I will do my best to adapt to the game because it’s kind of a different atmosphere to any other game. Everybody knows that and it’s just down to us as players. I probably would be more nervous as a fan.

Since I was seven or eight, I probably only missed one or two. I was at ball-boy for the game when Charlie Mulgrew scored with a diving header.

I remember the night when Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink scored with a header in the last minute. That was the same game where Shunsuke Nakamura scored from far out and games like that were incredible. It was 1-1 going into the last minute and it was great.

Tierney was hard on himself for making a mistake which led to Motherwell’s equaliser following Saturday’s game which ultimately saw Celtic move eight points clear.

And although he made the mistake that led to the goal, he made up for it with the two assists he got in the game and yet another impressive performance all-round.

I hold my hands up to the fans and the players for that mistake. I just had to bounce back but I am hard on myself. I was gutted, honestly. I’ve got three assists, if you count their goal.

I have made a lot of mistakes but that was a vital one. But I had to keep my head up and stay positive. Luckily I did that with the cross and Leigh was there to finish it off.

The future is bright for young Tierney having already made his Celtic debut, as well as four starts in the Europa League, where he impressed many fans as the team was under the spotlight for their abject performances.

With 28 starts under his belt so far this season, a league and cup double success, coupled with his first Scotland cap would round off an incredible start to Tierney’s professional career.