They are not the most glamorous opposition that Celtic have faced this season but Albion Rovers would feature prominently in any highlights package that Kieran Tierney might put together.
It was in the Excelsior stadium in Airdrie on a chilly January afternoon that Tierney sees as one of the pivotal moments of his season after the player made a three-month comeback from injury.
“Manchester City at home was a great game,” said Tierney. “Obviously, playing my first game at Ibrox and winning as well. There have been two or three moments, one was just coming back from injury and getting a start against Albion Rovers.
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“Everyone has different situations and I worked hard for three months before it. Just to get back on the park meant the hard work had paid off.
“I wasn’t too nervous, I just wanted to play again and get minutes.”
Tierney will need to get the suit out and the voiced cleared this weekend in preparation for another acceptance speech. The 19-year-old has won the Scottish Football Writers’ Young Player of the Year gong meaning that he will be invited to talk at the end-of-season dinner on Sunday evening as he accepts his accolade.
And the youngster has revealed that he is more nervous about that than he is about turning out in front of 60,000.
“People go up and speak for five minutes and make people laugh,” he said. “I finished last year and people didn’t know whether to clap or what. They were saying: ‘has he finished?’
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“I’m not funny. I’d get more nervous speaking in front of 1,000 people than playing in front of 60,000. It’s different. Football is my profession. Speaking in front of folk is not!
“I will be bringing my mate to the dinner but is he writing my speech? No, he’s not the brightest, to be fair!”
This weekend’s award will sit with the award from earlier this month which came from his fellow professionals, personal prizes the youngster also won last season.
Indeed, with a trophy cabinet bursting with individual awards going all the way back to his formative years, Tierney might need some extra shelving in the coming months.
“My friend thinks it’s class that I’ve got my very first boys club trophy from when I was six,” smiled the full-back. “I actually think the arm has fallen off. It was a pure cheap one, but I keep them all. There’s a cabinet I’ve got for medals and trophies. It’s getting full, but I hope I can keep filling it.”
Tierney’s appeal for Celtic lies in the aggression and energy he shows on the flank with this season confirming the upward trajectory of his reputation.
Liverpool and Arsenal have been added to the list of admirers who have kept tabs on his progress but for now the player has maintained that he is settled where he is.
Off the park, Tierney remains as unaffected as it is possible to be when a boyhood aspiration of featuring for your team of choice has been realised. Stopping for autographs and photographs with fans is not the norm for most teenagers, and yet the Scotland internationalist retains a firm sense of self that he attributes to still being around the same crowd of friends that he grew up with.
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Tee-total, Tierney roped in a personal trainer during his own summer break to ensure he reported for pre-season fit and ready to hit the ground running and the teenager has his head screwed on when it comes to appreciating the position which he is in.
“I was with Netherton Boys Club with all my friends,” said Tierney. “I still know a load of the boys who were there because they are all my friends from my area. I was only there a couple of years before I joined Celtic, but it was a special time.
“They were a year older than me and everyone went on trials here and there. There were a couple who went to Celtic at the same time as me, unfortunately, they didn’t get in, but it shows they could have gone far.
“My best friend Jamie Rankin is my age and he played with the team. He was a great player.
“He got trials with Aberdeen and Hibs, but it was just too far away at that time. Stuff like that is unlucky.
“I’m with him most days. He gets up early for work. He’s a fabricator welder. It’s long hours.
“I go to training. I realise I’m lucky."
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