MX23RW : Thursday, April 25 08:49:43| >> :120:73500:73500:

Stephen Robinson: 'Kieran Tierney move good for Scottish football'

Stephen Robinson: 'Kieran Tierney move good for Scottish football'
© Reuters
Arsenal made the left-back Scotland's most expensive player.

Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson believes Kieran Tierney's record-breaking move is good news for Scottish football.

Robinson – whose side host Celtic on Saturday – feels the Ladbrokes Premiership is finally getting the recognition it deserves after Tierney moved for a record £25million.

Arsenal made the left-back Scotland's most expensive player and paid double the amount Celtic accepted four years ago for Virgil van Dijk, now widely regarded as the world's best defender.

Motherwell themselves accepted a club-record £3million fee from Celtic for David Turnbull this summer before the need for the midfielder to undergo knee surgery scuppered the transfer.

And Robinson believes the effect of Tierney's fee will help other clubs.

Robinson said: "He's a top, top footballer and got a fantastic move, and got good value for a Scottish player, which is about time the league has been recognised for the quality it is and the quality of player that Kieran Tierney is.

"I tried to hold out for £25million for David but unfortunately we didn't quite get that. But the point is very valid. We don't get the credit for the game up here, usually from press people that have probably seen one game in 10 years.

"The quality is massively improved, there are a lot of top managers here, tactically very aware. Crowds are getting bigger, stadiums are full on the majority of weeks and I think we are getting value for players.

"There's a lot more players out there that people will be interested in and it's about time Scottish football got the credit it deserves."

Robinson sells a move to Fir Park partly on the chance to play the likes of Celtic live on television and his new-look team are relishing the visit of Neil Lennon's team after opening their Premiership campaign with a goalless draw on Livingston's artificial surface.

"We can't wait," he said. "A real early test for us. We know what quality Celtic have but we believe we have quality as well.

"We have to make sure we put our stamp on the game. We didn't last week, we matched the battling qualities of Livingston and the game was reduced to a scrap if I'm totally honest.

"It's certainly the extremes of Scottish football. Even the surfaces, our pitch is magnificent. You will have two teams playing the ball very quickly and trying to take control of the game.

"There's no right or wrong way to play football, Livingston play to their strengths and do it very, very well, so why not? Gary (Holt) has done a very good job there. Lenny will play to Celtic's strengths and we will play to our strengths.

"It's a game we are very much looking forward to. It ill be very different to last week but the thing we have to do that we didn't do is put our stamp on the game when we land on the ball.

"We have a terrific home record here and we go in very confident. We will try to take our game to them and press them and try and get our wide players on the ball to cause them problems."

ID:367543: cacheID:367543:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4559:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Gary Holt in charge of Falkirk in November 2013
Read Next:
We're comfortable in our skin - Holt responds to Livingston sceptics
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Arsenal34245582265677
2Liverpool34228475344174
3Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
4Aston Villa34206871502166
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd33165125150153
7Newcastle UnitedNewcastle331551369541550
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham34139125463-948
9Chelsea32138116157447
10Bournemouth34129134960-1145
11Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
12Wolverhampton WanderersWolves34127154654-843
13Fulham34126165054-442
14Crystal Palace34109154456-1239
15Brentford3498175259-735
16Everton34118153648-1233
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3479184260-1826
18Luton TownLuton3467214775-2825
19Burnley3458213769-3223
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3437243392-5916


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!