Kieran Tierney plays down impact after impressing for Celtic
Monday 26 October 2015 17:57, UK
Kieran Tierney insists he has a long way to go before he matches the achievements of his Celtic team-mate Emilio Izaguirre.
The teenager excelled in Sunday's 5-0 win over Dundee United at Parkhead as he drew fouls which led to his team's second and third goals.
Tierney was awarded the man of the match prize and his display drew praise from manager Ronny Deila, who tipped the player for a 'big future' at the club.
He started at left-back at Honduras international Izaguirre's expense as Deila made changes to the side which lost 3-1 at Norwegian club Molde in the Europa League.
Tierney, however, is keen to play down the impact he has made in the early part of his senior career with the Scottish champions.
Speaking as he helped launch the Celtic FC Foundation's 2015 Christmas Appeal, he said: "Emilio is a great player. He has played in the Champions League and World Cup so I still have a long way to go.
"He has great experience and he has been great with me. I still look up to him and I talk to him at training and he gives me tips.
"It was my fourth start of the season. Emilio has played in big competitions so I still have a long way to go. I need to keep on working on all my weaknesses.
"I have had meetings with (assistant manager) John Collins and (first-team coach) John Kennedy which have been great.
"They tell you the positives and also the negatives you need to work on and I do that after training but I have been absolutely delighted with the faith the manager has put in me.
"He threw me into some big games at such a young age which has been absolutely great. Attacking is a very big part of my armoury, especially the way the manager wants to play.
"I need to do it for 90 minutes. As you saw yesterday I was kind of tired at the end so I need to get that out of my game and try to last 90 minutes easily."
Simunovic, meanwhile, returned against United for the first time since his debut against Ajax on September 17, following his recovery from bone bruising.
The 21-year-old Croatian defender joined Tierney after teaming up with him at the weekend and is keen to make up for lost time after his move from Dinamo Zagreb in August.
He said: "I feel great to be back. It happened at training and the healing was long but now that is behind me. It was very hard to be out.
"There was nothing I could do about it but I worked really hard to get back. Now I want to show what I can do and help my team as much as I can."
