{"id":3602,"date":"2026-04-08T10:41:47","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:41:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=3602"},"modified":"2026-04-08T10:41:47","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:41:47","slug":"celtic-told-to-drop-tired-kieran-tierney-as-pundit-reckons-reaction-to-dundee-sub-was-telling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/?p=3602","title":{"rendered":"Celtic told to drop &#8216;tired&#8217; Kieran Tierney as pundit reckons reaction to Dundee sub was telling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_32b220\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Tierney has completed the full 90 minutes in just 13 of his 45 appearances for the Hoops since his return from Arsenal<\/h2>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"36981533\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/article36981533.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_2026-Scottish-Premiership-Football-Dundee-v-Celtic-Dundee-Scotland-05-Apr-2026.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/article36981533.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_2026-Scottish-Premiership-Football-Dundee-v-Celtic-Dundee-Scotland-05-Apr-2026.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/article36981533.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_2026-Scottish-Premiership-Football-Dundee-v-Celtic-Dundee-Scotland-05-Apr-2026.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.dailyrecord.co.uk\/article36981533.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_2026-Scottish-Premiership-Football-Dundee-v-Celtic-Dundee-Scotland-05-Apr-2026.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"Kieran Tierney\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">Kieran Tierney<cite aria-label=\"Image: Vagelis Georgariou\/Action Plus\/Shutterstock\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-credit__wlx1W\" data-testid=\"caption-credit\">(Image: Vagelis Georgariou\/Action Plus\/Shutterstock)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Celtic have been told to drop Kieran Tierney and hand Marcelo Saracchi an extended run in the team for the title-run in.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">And that&#8217;s because the Scotland full back is looking increasingly worn about, according to former Partick Thistle and Dundee United boss Ian McCall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The left back has racked up 45 appearances in all competitions so far this season after re-joining his boyhood club from Arsenal last summer, the most he has managed the 2017\/18 campaign during his first spell at Parkhead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">However, Tierney has only completed 90 minutes in 13 of those matches and was replaced by Boca Juniors loanee Saracchi with 14 minutes remaining in last Sunday&#8217;s 2-1 away win against Dundee that moved Martin O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s men to within three points of league leaders Hearts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">With six games remaining, McCall believes that fatigue is starting to catch up with Tierney and also reckons the travelling Celtic support on Sunday felt the same way. Speaking on <a aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wvmX4krJLA8\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Open Goal<\/a>he said: &#8220;It\u2019s a horrible thing. I think he should be playing left-back ahead of Kieran Tierney just now.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Kieran Tierney just looks tired. The bottom line is, look how much he\u2019s played over the last four years. I thought the Celtic supporters were giving Saracchi a cheer when he came on when Tierney got taken off.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">\u201cWe all know Tierney is top-notch when he\u2019s fit, but right at this minute, for these six games, Saracchi looks like he has more energy and more about him. I\u2019d maybe think about him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Just last week, the player himself hit back at the critics who argue that he is no longer the same player that left Celtic for Hearts nearly seven years ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;People are always going to do it, and they still say it today&#8221;, he told the club&#8217;s media channel. &#8220;There\u2019s nothing you can do apart from work hard.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;And I\u2019m just so grateful because the club, one of the reasons I came back is because I know the club so well and they know me, and they probably knew that I was going to need a bit of time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;So the club never put pressure on me at the start to play three games a week, three 90 minutes a week. It was a slow buildup, and that was always the plan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;So in my head at the time, I was like, Oh, maybe I would like to play more and longer and be fitter and be stronger, but I knew it was a process.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Follow <strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><em>Record Sport<\/em><\/strong>  on <a aria-label=\"TwitterLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Record_Sport\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Twitter<\/a>, <a aria-label=\"FacebookLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DailyRecordSport\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Facebook<\/a> and <a aria-label=\"InstagramLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dailyrecord_sport\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Instagram<\/a> for all of the up-to-the minute breaking news, video and audio on the SPFL, the Scotland national team and beyond.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Celtic page and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">We&#8217;re also on WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Celtic community <a aria-label=\"hereLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/chat.whatsapp.com\/GtgsiFAaUcWKtoLw98WNeq\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\"><em>Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport&#8217;s newest podcast, <a aria-label=\"Game OnLink opens in a new tab.\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/GameOnListen\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_blank\">Game On<\/a>every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh \" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\"><em><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35\">Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google\u2019s preferred sources<\/strong><\/em>. Click HERE.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tierney has completed the full 90 minutes in just 13 of his 45 appearances for the Hoops since his return from Arsenal Kieran Tierney(Image: Vagelis Georgariou\/Action Plus\/Shutterstock) Celtic have been told to drop Kieran Tierney and hand Marcelo Saracchi an extended run in the team for the title-run in. And that&#8217;s because the Scotland full [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportings.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}