THEY are two of the hottest young talents in Scottish football, blazing a trail across the top flight for Celtic, Motherwell and their country.

But as Kieran Tierney and Chris Cadden were in direct competition with each other on Saturday as 54,000 watched on from the steep stands of Parkhead, it was a match up that was first sparked up eight years ago in the modest surroundings of a school playground.

Both Motherwell boys, the two attended Our Lady’s High School in the Lanarkshire town while juggling their education and life in their respective club academies.

Six months and a school year separated the pair until Tierney moved to St Ninian’s football school in Kirkintilloch, but it didn’t stop them crossing paths inside the school gates.

And now as the young Celtic full-back prepares to go up against Borussia Monchengladbach tomorrow in the Champions League, Cadden admits he is delighted for his former fellow pupil as he impresses on the European stage.

“I’ve known Kieran for years,” explained the midfielder. “He lives five minutes up the road from me. He goes to the same hairdressers!

“I played school football at Our Lady’s and played for the team but when I went into second year he was in the year below me. 

“We got told ‘We’ve got a good player coming up here’ but I don’t think he was ever really allowed to play for the school. Just me!

“He left around third year to go to St Ninian’s so we didn’t get the chance to be in the same team, but we’d play football in the playground together. He was a good player back then as well.

“It’s good to see him doing so well. He’s worked hard to be where he is. I spoke to him after the game on Saturday and just wished him all the best.”
Tierney has become a first pick at Celtic as Honduran internationalist Emilio Izaguirre has been forced on to the bench and into the first-team shadows.

It is a similar tale for Cadden at Motherwell. A virtual unknown little over a year ago, the 20-year-old not only captained the Steelmen’s U20s to their first ever Youth Cup win last season but cemented his place at the heart of Mark McGhee’s midfield.

A key facet of Cadden’s make up is his ability to be mature beyond his years. Indeed, he was far from the youngest in claret and amber during Saturday’s 2-0 defeat as McGhee gave run outs to Jack McMillan, Ross MacLean, David Ferguson and 17-year-old Jake Hastie.

Despite only being a few months or the odd year older than his former U20 team-mates, Cadden embraced his role now as a first-team regular to welcome the newbies to the fold. 

“It’s good for the boys. It’s a credit to Craggs and the coaches working under him as well. They are bringing through top players.

“All of them didn’t look out of place,” Cadden said. “Ross MacLean was great, so was Jack until he obviously went off then you had Jake as well. He’s only 17-year-old and then you had Fergie.

“The night before the game I text Chucky [MacLean] and told him not to waste all of his energy and to calm down.

“I was in his position just 10 months ago when I got told on the Friday night before that I was starting.

“You are buzzing but it’s hard because you can’t sleep. I just told him to relax but I thought the four of them handled it really well.”Cadden, as well as his brother Nicky who is now at Airdrieonians, are both products of Motherwell’s youth academy, and he is excited at being part of a successful conveyor belt of talent that looks ready to spew out gems for years to come.

“Motherwell aren’t the type of club that’s going to spend £2million on a player,” he said. 

“The youth set up deserves a lot of plaudits for what they are doing. The U20s are flying at the moment and are currently second in the development league. 

“You can see how good they are when they come up to train with us and they are hungry for it. They work really hard.”