KT GOOD TO GO AGAIN
KIERAN TIERNEY is gearing up to switching from international football in the UEFA Nations League to the Premiership tomorrow night and then the Europa League on Thursday.
The Celtic defender, who played in Scotland’s recent games against Belgium and Albania, is poised to face St Mirren in Paisley before Rosenborg visit Parkhead for the second time this season.
KT’s focus in on the Saints and is wary of the menace a debutant boss can bring to a club with Irishman Oran Kearney, who took over from the axed Alan Stubbs, preparing for his Scottish baptism after leaving Coleraine.
The Hoops left-back said: “You always get that bounce with a new manager. The players want to do well and will be out to impress him to try and get in his team going forward.
“It will be a tough game. They did well winning promotion and although they have changed their manager, they already have points on the board and that shows they have something about them.
“But, of course, the aim is to get back on top of the table and to stay there. It is one game at a time and that is St Mirren. We will be looking to take the three points there and then try to go on the sort of run we are capable of.
“All the boys who have been away on international duty will have to get back and get their recovery in before we start to look to St Mirren.”
The champions went into the international break following a 1-0 win over Steven Gerrard’s new-look Ibrox outfit and Tierney said: “Everybody was talking about them, but we kept quiet and we did our talking, where it matters most, on the park.
“We played really well and on another day we could have scored a few more. I don’t think anyone could have argued with the final outcome.”
The Scotland star isn’t concerned the team will now go forward without the goals from Moussa Dembele after his £19.7million move to Lyon just hours before the transfer deadline.
He remarked: “There is quality in the squad and in every position, but that is Celtic for you. If you are not working hard enough or playing to your best, then there will always be somebody else waiting to take your place.
“There is no room for complacency and that is what makes us a top team and why every Celtic player aspires to be the best we can be.”
Tierney is upset Celtic did not do themselves justice in the Champions League qualifiers and added: “We know we could have done a lot better. It was a particularly sore one against AEK in Athens because we had the quality to beat them, but we didn’t use it which was the most disappointing thing.
“We are now in the Europa League group stages which is the next big thing for us. We can now look forward to these matches against Rosenborg, Red Bull Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.
“Although it is a disappointment that it is not the Champions League, they are still games to look forward to.
“All three teams are decent sides and will offer us different tests and want to go out and do well and get as far as we can in the tournament.”