‘Seeing it first-hand’ – Kieran Tierney wowed by ‘unbelievable’ Celtic player

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There are still some familiar faces at Celtic from the last time Kieran Tierney was in the green and white colours.

Tierney’s final game, of his first spell, in a Celtic shirt was against Aberdeen in the Premiership, May 2019, and only two players remain from that matchday squad under Neil Lennon.

They include Celtic’s most decorated player of all time, James Forrest, and captain fantastic Callum McGregor.

At that time, McGregor was in his mid-20s, and he was starting to make a name for himself in Celtic’s first team.

There were far more authoritative figures in the Celtic dressing room than McGregor, but all of that has now changed, and Tierney saw it from a mile off.

• READ MORE: Meet Kieran Tierney, the Celtic fan favourite who returned to Paradise

Kieran Tierney on Callum McGregor being Celtic captain

There is nobody better to lead Celtic right now than McGregor, and Tierney has shared an insight into what the 32-year-old has always been like.

Speaking to Celtic TV, the returning left-back explained how ‘you always saw’ the leadership qualities in McGregor when he was younger.

But McGregor still wasn’t the main man back then, and now that he is, Tierney explained how it is all ‘unbelievable’ seeing it ‘first-hand’.

“The only thing with that is you always saw it in Cal, at a young age and when we played together,” said Tierney about McGregor’s leadership skills.

“He had that leadership quality. Some people have it or don’t, and he has got it. I was always with the Scotland squad when he was there, and you could see it even though I wasn’t playing with him week in and week out. I could still see that he has those leadership skills.

“What he has done for the club, he is an absolute legend and what he has won. How he drives the team on. Seeing it again now, first-hand, is unbelievable.”

Tierney on McGregor replacing Scott Brown

Nobody was louder than Scott Brown, and he was always going to be a difficult act to follow once he left the club.

Now, McGregor isn’t that type of character, on the pitch or in the media, but he is still as brave as anyone in those heated and difficult moments.

And Tierney wanted to give his skipper his flowers for stepping into Brown’s shoes.

“I think so, I think most people would think the same, it would be natural for it to be Callum (to have replaced Scott Brown),” added Tierney.

“I think he has proved everyone right for what he has done and what he continues to do for the club.”