PADDY ROBERTS and Kieran Tierney were inseparable when they were at Celtic, and to this day, they still keep in touch.
The two were of a similar age, and shared the same interests, which sparked off a special friendship between the pair. When Tierney suffered a broken jaw in the 2017 Scottish Cup final, Roberts even wore his teammate‘s shirt during the post–match celebrations.
Appearing on the Celtic View podcast, Paddy Roberts said:
“When he came in, he was only my age and he came through as a home-grown player.
“I came from Man City so we had different journeys. I sat beside him in the changing room and we got on well.
“I could see what he was like as a personality – he got my banter and I got his.
“We made a great friendship off the pitch and on the pitch as well. We got on really well, enjoyed each others company and it was the same with some of the other lads.”
He opened up on another relationship that wasn’t as prominent as the now with the left-back.
“I used to live downstairs from Nir Bitton, who helped me settle in as he’d been there for a long time.
“Everybody there was great with me and made my time enjoyable off the pitch – as well as on it.”
Admitting his fondness for the club, Roberts said that Celtic is like a ‘second home’ for him.
“It’s like a second home – to put two words to it.
“It’s one of those clubs you play for and it will always stick by you forever.
“From minute one I loved by time there and it got better and better over the years.
“There’s nowhere like it really and it was a wonderful time of my career.
“I look back and it was privilege to play for them.”
The pair are currently down south, Tierney with Arsenal and Roberts seems to have settled down at Sunderland after a few post-Celtic loan spells. However, KT’s future is in the balance, with the Scotland internationalist unhappy with the playing time he’s currently receiving.
Fans have many fond memories of Paddy Roberts, it’s a shame it didn’t work out for him in the Hoops, falling away in his second season, but in fairness, his injuries didn’t help.
