KIERAN TIERNEY has revealed he was fearing the worst when he left Celtic for Arsenal when it came to how the news would be received by the Parkhead faithful.
The Scotland international headed to the Premier League in a £25million move from Celtic in August 2019 - just months after Brendan Rodgers left mid-season for Leicester.
Rodgers had received backlash from fans after accepting a move to The Foxes in the midst of Celtic chasing a treble treble in domestic competition.
And Tierney - who left in the summer window - has admitted he feared taking some stick from the support for leaving.
But instead he told the Daily Mail that he received an overwhelmingly positive response with lots of fans wishing him the best after his transfer switch.
On his move to Arsenal, Tierney commented: "Easily the hardest decision I've ever had to make because of how much it pulled on my heart strings.
"My family loved going to Celtic games and seeing their son, brother, nephew, cousin play and I felt bad taking that away from them.
"We'd seen the reaction that Brendan Rodgers had got (when he left Celtic for Leicester), so it was kind of scary. But it's a very small minority.
"A lot of people messaged me saying: 'All the best', 'We're so proud of you', 'Go down there and smash it'. I still look back and see those as my best days — to be playing for your boyhood club. I lived the dream."
