Scotland manager and former Liverpool coach Steve Clarke has said he told Kieran Tierney that he was a better left-back than Andrew Robertson in order to trigger a positional shift.
The Liverpool and Arsenal duo provide excellent depth for Clarke on the left flank, although previously finding a way of getting both players into the first XI proved problematic.
After using Tierney as a right-back and then playing him as a left winger, Clarke eventually found a system that seemingly suited both him and Robertson, with the Gunners star playing as a centre-back.
The change worked brilliantly for Scotland and the link between the pair has been a hallmark of the play that saw them qualify for last summer's European Championship. They also have the chance to make the World Cup too, as they will take part in the upcoming playoffs.
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Speaking about the tactical setup, Clarke - who was Liverpool assistant manager to Sir Kenny Dalglish in 2011-12 - said he had to tell Tierney he was his nation's best left-back, although the manager conceded he doesn't necessarily think that's true.
"Defensively we weren’t great and needed a change," he said, per the Daily Record. "I phoned my coaches and said 'we can’t go with a back four, I want to go with a back three'. I had never coached a back three in my life so it was a challenge for me and my coaches.
"We had two of the best left-backs in world football, Tierney and Robertson, and had to figure out how to get them in the team.
"My idea was that Tierney could play centre-back and I had this mad idea that Scott McTominay could play as one of the others. I had a really good conversation with Tierney to tell him he was going to be the best left-sided centre-back that Scotland had ever had.
"A myth had built up around Kieran that he didn’t want to come and play with the national team, which wasn’t correct.
"But I think he always felt that he was a better left-back than Andy Robertson. Every player thinks they’re better than the immediate competition and if you compare them, there isn’t a cigarette paper between them.
"I had to persuade Kieran that he was better than Andy and that’s why I trusted him to play left centre-back and not Andy.
"Now, that’s probably not strictly true but that’s how I had to sell it to Kieran. Now we’ve got the best overlapping centre-back in world football. It works."
