Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers feels the Celtic fans who sang about Kieran Tierney during their 3-0 win over St. Mirren on Sunday showed a total lack of respect.
Tierney, a Celtic youth graduate, came through their academy system. The full-back made his first-team debut in April 2015 and won countless honours during his first spell at the club. After playing 170 games for Celtic, he joined Premier League side Arsenal in August 2019 for a reported fee of £25 million. He is now on the verge of a return to the club.
Greg Taylor, Celtic's current full-back, is out of contract at the end of the season. Some Celtic fans seemed happy to sing the famous Kieran Tierney chant during their game yesterday.
Rodgers, speaking in his post-match press conference, claimed it was disrespectful to Greg Taylor to sing songs about another player while he was still at the club. He believes Taylor should be respected for his contributions to the team despite the speculation surrounding his future.
“A total lack of respect. Of course it is," said Rodgers.
“Greg Taylor, he’s been absolutely amazing at this club. How does he feel? He nearly breaks his nose today, bleeding for the club, for the cause.
“I’m more worried about the players that are here. It’s not very respectful to sing for another player, no matter what Kieran’s history is. I don’t like that.
“I have a young player who’s given so much to this club over a number of years, consistently. His robustness, ability, and what he’s done for the club—that needs to be respected. He might decide to go elsewhere."
Rodgers also expressed hope that Taylor could be persuaded to stay at Celtic as the club aims to build a stronger squad for future tournaments.
“But at this moment in time, he’s here; he’s very much a Celtic player, and we want to support that. Hopefully, we can reach an agreement to keep him.
“I hear the stuff around Champions League players. But I’ve had hundreds of Celtic players that haven’t been good enough in the Champions League.
“What I know is this is a man who gives everything for this club. Hopefully, we can keep him here because we’re trying to build a strong squad.
“I put myself in his shoes, playing left-back in the game, and we are singing the name of someone else.”
Celtic plays Dundee United next on Wednesday.
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