The Hoops left-back has gradually become more robust and rebuilt himself mentally and physically with each passing week
06:00, 14 Feb 2026
Celtic hero Kieran Tierney
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Celtic hero Kieran Tierney(Image: SNS Group)
Kieran Tierney knew the road home to Celtic was the right one.
Getting back up to full throttle, though, has been a different journey altogether. The defender made the easiest decision of his career by returning to Parkhead, sealing an emotional summer comeback six years after his £25million move to Arsenal.
Marquee signing KT had the green-and-white faithful buzzing from the moment he walked back through the doors of his boyhood club. Excited punters expected the outstanding homegrown hero to hit the ground running - and be even better than the Rolls-Royce of a player who starred in his first spell in Glasgow.
But after being plagued by injury issues during his latter years in North London, Tierney knew he would need time before the engine was firing on all cylinders again. The Scotland idol had started just 36 games across three campaigns with the Gunners and during a loan spell at Real Sociedad.
Already, he has almost surpassed that tally this term alone - starting 30 of his 37 appearances. The resilient full-back has rebuilt himself physically and mentally with each passing week and has featured in all but four matches.
Crucially, Tierney now has the legs to last the full 90 minutes and has rediscovered his top gear over the last two months. But he makes no apologies for taking time to reach those levels after such a stop-start few years.
He said: “It’s been a tough season for me, to be honest. I’ve just had to keep doing what I’m doing, do my recovery and the work in the gym. Keep believing I will get better, get sharper and perform better. It’s been about believing in myself and keeping going.
“It’s a lot of pressure but playing with Celtic that’s something you need to deal with, I knew that coming back. So it wasn’t a surprise. I lived that playing for Celtic my whole life before I left, I love being here and love playing for Celtic, so when people come up to you it’s great.
“I’m sure people know I want the best for Celtic and nobody more than me wanted me to be fitter sooner. But I have done my best, worked hard and tried to do my best for the team. If someone hasn’t played consistently for three years it’s hard to expect that in the first four weeks they’re going to be flying.
“I had two or three operations in the last couple of years, never played consistently and came back, asked to play a lot of games at the start, so it’s going to take time. Did I know it would be a slow burner? Yes.
“People will probably see the growth that has happened in me over the last couple of months. I would say for the past couple of months I’ve been performing at a consistent level. I need to keep that up, keep defending well, helping the boys in attack and playing a lot of minutes."
Kieran Tierney receives medical treatment after his clash with Dundee's Cameron Congreve
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Kieran Tierney receives medical treatment after his clash with Dundee's Cameron Congreve(Image: PA)
Tierney is proud of the fact he has been available for almost every fixture this season. But he feared the worst after taking a boot to the face from Dundee winger Cameron Congreve last week. Thankfully, the Scotland star avoided a concussion but did sustain a broken nose.
Yet four days later, he was back in the thick of the action, desperately trying to spare Celtic’s blushes against Livingston.
Tierney said: “I feared the worst, anything around your nose and mouth area, especially when you’ve had it before. I’m really lucky to only have a broken nose, to be honest. I’m just glad it wasn’t worse and I was able to play again so soon, because my record of being available this season, touch wood, has been pretty good.
“So I want to keep that going and don’t want to miss any more games. I jumped for a header, won it and got clattered by a boot. I was surprised more wasn’t made of it because I knew I’d won the header, I wasn’t low and it was a high boot.
“We have seen them given against us, so I thought at the time it was going to be. You see plenty of examples of decisions for and against you, sometimes it does go for you and others it doesn’t.”
A Celtic diehard, Tierney needs no added motivation to perform week in, week out for his beloved club. But the full-back is being pushed hard by the return of loanee Marcelo Saracchi - who boss Martin O’Neill reckons should be snapped up on a permanent deal this summer.
Tierney said: “Marcelo was unfortunate to have two hamstring injuries so that gave me the chance to play more minutes and get up to speed as well. Now he’s back, the two of us are fighting for the one position and that’s the best for Celtic. When you’re competitive in every position it brings the best out of each other and that’s good for the team."
A model professional, Tierney has also become a real ambassador off the park. The World Cup-bound star has recently taken on a new role as patron of The Kano Foundation - a charity that has brought more than 20,000 children to Celtic Park.
He said: “You see the kids when they go to the games, they make noise and it makes their week. When I got asked to do it of course I wanted to because it’s a great foundation and I’m looking forward to working closely with them in the next few years.
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“Celtic is a massive community club and what they do for a lot of charities is amazing. I saw it here in my first spell at the club, so I am delighted to do what I can do.”