As Darren Fletcher stands on the cusp on international retirement after Scotland’s latest campaign failure, he believes that Kieran Tierney can be the impetus for future success for the national team.

The former Manchester United midfielder has described Tierney as “a very special talent” and has echoed the sentiment that the 20-year-old is destine to feature at the very top level.

While Tierney has become a mainstay of Celtic’s Champions League campaigns, it is the player’s mental temperament that Fletcher believes has him earmarked for a top Premiership side – although not any time soon.

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“He is a fantastic talent with a massive future,” said Fletcher. “I can’t speak highly enough of him either on or off the pitch. I think we are really witnessing the rise of a player who will be a very special talent.

“You are always aware that there can be an element of hype with young players and I always tend to be naturally wary of that but I think with KT it is justified. It is not just his natural ability – which is there for all to see – but his power and everything about him.

“There are plenty of people with potential.

“But what separates it at this level is those who have the mindset, the determination, the temperament and the character to go to the top level and Kieran ticks all those boxes. He has definitely got it.

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“Even just his mentality tells you so much about him. The youngest player in the squad but he doesn’t flinch when he is asked to come and step out of his comfort zone and play on his wrong side. And this is international football. The level is high and yet he stepped up fantastically well to the challenge.

“What takes you to the next level is mentality and he has exactly the right mindset. He wants to learn, he is tenacious, nothing fazes him and he is very calm under pressures. He is also a very likeable, grounded lad and he certainly doesn’t seem to have been carried away by the way he has started his senior career which is always a good thing.”

Tierney has attracted attention from elsewhere already in his career and if his performance at Champions League level continue that interest will intensify.

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Fletcher is well aware of what it takes to go and play at the top level of the English Premier League and he has maintained that Tierney is well served continuing where he is now with Celtic.

“He will make his own mind up and make his own decisions. But right now he is playing Champions League football and he is part of something really special under Brendan Rodgers at Celtic who is a fantastic manager.

“There is plenty of time for him to go onto another level. The last thing you would want for him is to go and be another number somewhere – I am not saying that would be the case because I believe he will play at the very, very top level – but what I do know is that he will know himself when the time is right.

“He is a big Celtic fan, he loves the club and that is great for both of them – it’s good for Celtic because he is loving being there and playing every week and it’s great for him because he has been given a brilliant platform to go and learn his trade. He has a really good head on his shoulders and he’s a sensible lad who will know what the right thing is for him.”

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Celtic’s Invincible Treble carried little currency south of the border last term while Scott Sinclair’s omission from the England squad tells its own story about the perception of the Scottish game.

Having been in England for the duration of his career, Fletcher can appreciate the manner in which noses are snubbed at the suggestion of anything in Scottish football carrying weight, a philosophy that he dismisses.

“It is a naïve way of thinking,” said the 33-year-old. “What they are doing is incredible and it is not easy. Winning games and maintaining that level of consistency is hugely difficult whatever league you are in.

“People also forget down south that there are numerous players who have left English football to go and play in Scotland and who have struggled. It is not easy and it is a lazy approach to write it off too readily.

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“But Brendan won’t be worried about that. They are happy – they only credit you need comes from within. You know as a club and as a team if you are going in the direction you want to be and I am pretty sure Celtic know they are in a good place at the moment whether anyone in England cares or not.

“You only have to look at Virgil van Dijk and Victor Wanyama for examples of players who have been turning it on at Celtic and who have become superstars in England. They are a good team with good players – you can be pretty certain about that. There are a number of players who could walk out of Celtic and into an English team and not just play but excel. I’d have no doubt about that.”