IF imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, then Gordon Strachan will be more than happy to pay a timely compliment to Brendan Rodgers in Lithuania.
Timely because the Scotland manager left the man who leads the club side currently dominating the domestic game less than pleased when omitting Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor from the travelling party for Friday night’s World Cup tie.
Yet, while defending his right to pick whoever he wants, Strachan was at the same time lavish in his praise for another of his players, Kieran Tierney.
A player he trusts to the extent he will do as Celtic have been doing already this season, and move the precocious 20-year-old away from left-back for the good of the team.
Strachan has no qualms about switching him to right-back, or even into the centre, to allow the country to also play Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson.
“It is something I will do because you have to get a system which allows you to play your best players,” he said.
“It’s no fun when you look at your bench and your third-best player is sitting beside you.
“Having Kieran, someone I’ve played in three different positions already, allows me to do that.
“Some people you move to other positions and they just crumble. I know that for a fact.
“But not him. He takes it on.
“He is a special player. One who will back himself everywhere against anyone, which is fantastic.
“We knew, especially playing him at centre-back, that we had to find someone who was willing to go and find people, get up against them, and back themselves one-for-one. He has all of that.
“And he learned the role. He’s doing us a favour, doing the team a favour, but you’re gauged on your performance and he’s not scared of that.
“He might privately have been thinking: ‘Oh, Jesus . . .’. But to me, he was just: ‘Aw aye, not a problem’.
“Because I knew him, I always thought he’d be fine.”
It would be mistaken to think of Strachan viewing Tierney as a Jack-of-all-trades, a description which is always followed by the disparaging rider, master of none.
“The week before, Kieran played in the centre against Kilmarnock, I saw him used at left-back against Partick Thistle and he was magnificent!
“He is just a player. What I mean by that is sometimes you say someone is a footballer and they can only play in football games. But he can play in anything, anywhere, any time, any condition.”
In football comparisons that can be a double-edged sword.
Liken a young player to a legend, or an iconic name, and their confidence will receive a boost. Make it obviously ill-fitting, though – Billy McNeill’s likening of Steve Fulton to Roberto Baggio being the famous example – and the reverse can be the case.
It is significant then that while talking about Tierney and Andrew Robertson, the Scotland manager doesn’t shy from invoking the memory of two of the very best – Danny McGrain and Sandy Jardine.
“Listen, they were world-class, but it’s similar here with Kieran and Andrew – we have two top, top players.
“And sure, there’s youth about Tierney, but if you watch him, his decision-making is great.
“There’s never youthful stupidity in anything he does.
“He backs himself. He is one of the few defenders who looks at a one-on-one situation and thinks: ‘I’m not really needing any help here, I’ll look after him’.
“He is one of those players who wide men, in particular, look at and probably think: ‘Ach, I’d rather be somewhere else’.
“Kieran likes a tackle. We should all be proud of him.
“Celtic, in particular, should be really proud of him. All our coaches talk about these guys and how well they get on with their jobs.
“They are role models, and the best way you can learn in the game is getting good role models.”
Scotland, of course, have no trademark on commitment, with Strachan warning the Lithuania side they will meet on Friday will be every bit as motivated as they were at Hampden, back in October, when the teams drew 1-1.
“They take great pride in playing for their country as it’s a small, close-knit group,” he said.
“It’s like a club side. That’s where they get their strength.
“And they are no mugs, either.”
Come Saturday morning we have to hope that is a description which will apply more to the visitors than the hosts.
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