Scottish Premiership defender compared to ex Celtic ace Kieran Tierney

Former Celtic ace Kieran Tierney is one of the best players that Scotland currently have to offer - recently, interim Aberdeen head coach Peter Leven has compared one of his own stars, Jack MacKenzie, to the 26-year-old Arsenal defender.

He cited MacKenzie’s ‘pace and power’ as a reason for this line of thinking - he thinks that he merely ‘needs to believe in himself’ to realise his true potential. Additionally, Leven also touted MacKenzie as a future Scotland international.

So far this season, MacKenzie has made 23 appearances in the Scottish Premiership, scoring a single goal. Furthermore, he also picked up Aberdeen’s young player of the season award.

How did Peter Leven compare Jack MacKenzie to Kieran Tierney?

Speaking to the Press and Journal, MacKenzie said: “I said to Jack that he has the attributes, that Tierney thing about him when he can drive forward powerfully on his left. I told him that he needs to bring that more and take on players.

“He just needs to believe in himself a bit more but he has showed that at times this season. Jack has come on leaps and bounds and really impressed me.

“Jack is a good kid and I spend a lot of time with him. When you are in a room with 20 players and doing video, 12 of the players will switch off because you are not talking to them. I like to do one-on-ones and small groups where you just dedicate 20 minutes to one player.

“Then there is an understanding of what he wants and what I want. There needs to be that balance. And it is not all just coach led, as I will ask him: ‘How do you think you will improve your game?’ The work is both with video and on the grass. We will watch Jack’s games then look at, say, Kieran Tierney, and say: ‘That’s the level they are at, how do we get there? Now let’s go work on it on the pitch.’”