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Kieran Tierney buzzing after Celtic rout of Rangers

Celtic's Scott Brown (left) leads the celebrations after beating Rangers
Celtic's Scott Brown (left) leads the celebrations after beating Rangers Celtic's Scott Brown (left) leads the celebrations after beating Rangers

KIERAN Tierney celebrated a Celtic victory from the Ibrox stands earlier this season and gleefully doubled it up with a pitch party following the 5-1 thrashing of Rangers on Saturday.

The 19-year-old left-back took his place among the Hoops fans when an ankle injury ruled him out of the 2-1 Ladbrokes Premiership victory in Govan on New Year’s Eve.

This time at Ibrox, he was one of many star performers against the Light Blues as treble-chasing Celtic romped to a record win at the home of their Old Firm rivals.

After Scott Sinclair opened the scoring with an early penalty, Leigh Griffiths lashed a shot past Gers keeper Wes Foderingham and further goals from Callum McGregor, Dedryck Boyata and Mikael Lustig rendered Kenny Miller’s strike a mere consolation.

The Celtic players joined their fans at the end to rejoice in the romp and Tierney said: “Everybody enjoyed the celebrations.

“I remember the last game on Hogmanay I was in the crowd. I know what it is like to be in there and I know what it is like to be on the pitch now. It was brilliant.

“We are all buzzing and happy about it.”

Griffiths aims to continue on the goal trail until the end of the season after scoring his 15th of the campaign.

The Scotland striker has played second fiddle to Moussa Dembele for most of the season but was given a start in the final Old Firm game of the campaign due to the French forward’s hamstring injury.

Celtic, a staggering 36 points ahead of third-placed Rangers, have four league matches and a William Hill Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen to play before their campaign ends and Griffiths is looking to add further to his tally.

He said: “I was part of the squad on New Year’s Eve and unfortunately I didn’t get on the pitch, but just to be a part of that (5-1) was massive for me.

“I have had my injuries so far this season but I am fully fit now and with Moussa’s injury, it gives me a chance to step up and score goals from now until the end of the season.”

Celtic have won five and drawn one of the six Old Firm games this term and on a day when the gulf between the two clubs was laid bare, the bar denied Griffiths a second.

“A couple of inches lower and it’s in the back of the net,” he said.

“But it’s not just about my performance or my goal, it’s about the whole team’s performance.

“We were very professional in the way we went about it.”

Meanwhile, Rangers skipper Miller said he was “bored” talking about the Ibrox men needing to be more competitive and pointed to the table to help make his point.

He said: “The manager will assess where he needs to strengthen, that is not for me to say but you just need to look at the league table.

“We seem to get carried away because of where we have been in the past, always used to being up there, being successful, winning trophies and challenging Celtic.

“If Aberdeen had won they would have gone 12 points clear of us.

“So you need to look at the league table to see how much work is to be done and how much better we need to be next year.”

It did not escape Miller’s notice that, of Brendan Rodgers’ signings since he took over from Ronny Deila as Celtic boss last summer, only Sinclair and Dembele are regular starters.

The former Celtic player said: “You only need to look at them to see the difference a few players make.

“There is no doubt we need to strengthen, we need to be better.

“But to start thinking you need to sign a whole new team, there is no proof that is going to be the answer.

“As I said, you only need to look at them to see what a few good signings can make, and existing players being rejuvenated.”