Kieran Tierney has spoken out about the criticism of his fitness he received before joining Celtic.
The defender has been through a lot over the years, suffering with injuries since originally leaving the Hoops. His time at Arsenal was marred by spells on the sideline, but thankfully, it hasn’t affected him much since returning to Glasgow in the summer.
Speaking about the concerns around his fitness, he said: “People are always going to do it, and they still say it today. There’s nothing you can do apart from work hard.
“And I’m just so grateful because the club, one of the reasons I came back is because I know the club so well and they know me, and they probably knew that I was going to need a bit of time.
“So the club never put pressure on me at the start to play three games a week, three 90 minutes a week. It was a slow buildup, and that was always the plan.
“So in my head at the time, I was like, Oh, maybe I would like to play more and longer and be fitter and be stronger, but I knew it was a process.
“I think I’ve played more minutes this season than the last two or three seasons combined. So I’m proud of that, and I work hard, and I look after myself, and that’s it. I just try to do my best for Celtic, and hopefully we get the rewards.”
Tierney has been a major asset
Tierney has been performing brilliantly for Celtic this season, despite some concerns around his form earlier in the campaign. He has been really helping the Hoops out, and now, he has a major part to play in the title race.
With Celtic sitting in third before matches are played, five points behind both Rangers and Hearts, there is still a long way to go. Any dropped points from here to the end of the season means the season is over, so hopefully, a win at Dens Park and against St Mirren will be the results going into the split.
Everyone will need to play the best football they can, and the Hoops should be relying on Tierney. With him and Marcelo Saracchi as the left-back options, that side of the pitch is strong. If our left wingers can find their feet late in the campaign, we will have something serious to work with.
