Liam Scales

Don't know what the * he was playing at for the Shankland goal.

He's too busy wrestling with his own player, and Shankland is stood having a * at the back post.

I don't know what the * we do in training, what sort of opposition preparation do we do?

Do we identify their main threats, "aye just let their top striker who's scored about 25 goals last season just wander about in our box with 5 yards of space".

* idiots.

 

Like Palma, he's far from our list of issues this season, and was excellent mid-week against Feyenoord.

If all goes well, Nawrocki will eventually properly challenge that spot, but CB is an area we can leave until the Summer if need be, it's everything else we need to improve.

 

Just isn’t true, he’s made plenty of mistakes.

 

what was he actually doing for that corner? I just think in the long run he will cost us a lot more goals.

Everyone has that one player that they just don't rate at all and mine is him. Maybe having a better left back next to him will help?

 

Only Celtic player to make 'team of the week'. He has been very consistent all season. There are bigger issues

 

Liam Scales reckons sometimes Celtic have "expected things just to happen" so far this season.

The Scottish champions recently lost back-to-back league games for the first time in over 10 years, after defeats to Kilmarnock and Hearts.

And Scales admits the Parkhead side "need to brush up" on a few things. He said: "I think we feel like sometimes we maybe expect it just to happen, just playing at home or playing against teams playing in the league, you just expect it to happen for us without actually taking the game by the horns and being aggressive and going and winning the game.

"We sometimes just expect it to happen when we show up, which we can’t do, and that’s where we need to brush up on a few things.

"Obviously you’re down a little bit, but we know that we’re still in a good position. It’s in our hands to go and turn it around.

"As players, we know we’re the players that can go and turn it around, and that’s the mood. We had a couple of days where you’re disappointed, but the games come thick and fast and you bounce back quickly.




The mood is a bit better now than it was." After the defeat to Steven Naismith's men, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers questioned the mentality of his players and revealed "he was not surprised" at the result.

And Scales feels the 50-year-old has a point. "I could see where he is coming from," he continued.

"It’s not nice to hear, but you can see where it’s coming from. Our performances aren’t probably where they should be, so he makes a good point.

"It does hurt as a player to hear that and I think we need to change, and not let that be the case again.

"It’s in our hands. We know if we win our games we can still go and be successful.

"It’s a minor blip in the course of the season. We need to turn the corner and get over it. That’s it really, it’s not a complete disaster."

 

Lets hope he is right and its just a "minor blip" in the season. Really need a performance as well as 3 points tomorrow badly.

 

The reaction from Celtic fans to the back-to-back cinch Premiership defeats which the Parkhead club have suffered have been predictably hysterical and completely over-the-top.

With Rangers, who have a game in hand still to play, moving to within two points of the defending champions at the top of the table on Wednesday night, many have predicted the balance of power in Scottish football is set to shift.

But Liam Scales has come through far worse spells in his career before and remains optimistic that he and his team mates will be able to put what he describes as a “minor blip” firmly behind them in the coming weeks and months and enjoy a successful season.

The centre half joked that he had considered seeking alternative employment back in January when he was on loan at Aberdeen and the Pittodrie club suffered heavy away losses against Hearts and Hibernian in the league and were knocked out of the Scottish Cup by minnows Darvel during a dire 10 days.




The Irishman, though, redoubled his efforts instead and played his part in the north-east outfit securing third place in the Premiership and clinching a European spot in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.

As he looked ahead to the Premiership match against bottom-placed Livingston at Parkhead tomorrow, he expressed confidence that he could use the invaluable experience he gained earlier this year to help Celtic recover from their dip in form.



After the Hearts game (Celtic lost 2-0 at home to the Tynecastle club last Saturday) I was disappointed,” he said. “I probably haven’t felt that way since that spell at Aberdeen. I thought about it for a long time.

“After that Hibs game, we turned it around and went on a run. We are looking to do the same here. You have to move on. I’ve been through that spell and taken good things out of it. Football is a mad game, It’s so unpredictable.

“At that point at Easter Road, I couldn’t have predicted all of this (playing for Celtic in the Champions League). I was probably looking at other things to do after that Hibs game!

“You go through spells when it doesn’t go your way and you think, ‘This is it, it’s only down from here’. It doesn’t work like that. It’s up and down. I’ve probably been playing long enough to know that now.”

Aberdeen sacked Jim Goodwin as manager immediately after their 6-0 loss to Hibs in Leith in January and replaced him with Barry Robson and the former Celtic midfielder oversaw a dramatic upturn in fortunes thereafter.

So what did Robson do it? And how can Brendan Rodgers get his charges performing to a level which saw them complete a world record eight domestic treble last term once again?

“It was probably just going back to basics, just trying to do those basics right, just being solid defensively and trying to build on that,” said Scales.

“That’s what we did at Aberdeen and it worked. Let’s just strip everything else away, everyone do the basics right and work that extra bit harder. That’s really what turned things around.

“Confidence then comes into it as it’s massive. Right now here, our confidence has probably been hit a little bit. The key now is to win these games before the break and that will lift us again.


Everyone here has had different tough spells in their careers, maybe injuries, relegations with other clubs or a lack of playing time. They’ve all bounced back. They all sort of know themselves.

“We are not dwelling on it either. It’s not really a massive topic of conversation. Our focus of on this next game, getting it out of the way and getting a positive result.”

Scales, who has firmly established himself as first choice centre half at Celtic this season after being unexpectedly hand a run in the first team due to a raft of injuries, stressed that he and his fellow players have worked tirelessly to eradicate the flaws in their game during training at Lennoxtown this week.

We have performed better against teams who have come and pressed us and been open,” he said. “ We have been able to pick them apart. But that is what we have been working on all week – breaking down low blocks.

“We know we face that a lot in the league. Probably in 80 or 90 per cent of the games we are against a low block. It is really down to us. At the end of the day, we need to go and take the game to them and win the game. We are expecting a different game to what we had last weekend.

“There’s no point in still being angry and having shouting matches. It’s really just about working on the training pitch, doing video analysis and working out ways to be better. It’s been good to have the week to prepare as we’ve managed to do proper sessions on how we are going to take the game to them.”

Asked if he had heard or read any of the fallout to the Hearts match, Scales said: “Not really. I tend to stay away from that kind of stuff. As a player, all I can control is my performance and helping the team win.


You could sense in the stadium after the game there was anger and disappointment – and rightly so. But I don't focus on the outside noise, only what is going on in here.


We know there are massive demands to win here and that’s why it’s such a successful club and why we’ve had such a good period over the last few years. We all know as players the fans expect us to win every week and with the squad we have, they are probably not wrong. It’s easier said than done, but we know we need to be better and turn the corner.”



The second Old Firm derby of the season at Parkhead on Sunday week is shaping up to be a festive cracker given the closeness of the Scottish title race – but Scales and his team mates are not looking any further ahead than the Livingston game tomorrow.

“That’s in the distance,” he said. “In every game, there’s three points available. This game technically is as important as that game next week and obviously we have Dundee in between. Obviously we just want to win those two games to put us in the right place.”

 

Strolled it.

 

Good header but he's still suspect defensively.

 

Would we be saying "we should be aiming for better" if a new signing played how he has?

I kmow we can always strive for better in any position but I feel like if we'd signed a player who plays like scales has, we'd be buzzing with it.

 

Really? What did he do wrong today?

 

Thought he was excellent today. Can't remember any defensive errors.

 

Twice the player next to CCV

 

Great goal

Only thing that annoyed me today with him was the amount of unnecessary touches he takes before passing

 

There was no major error but everything he does is just so basic. I don't feel confident at all with him at the back. His positioning is one cause for concern.

 

Let's be honest, we'd be absolutely buzzing if a new signing was playing the way he was.

He's not been perfect, but he's been one of our best players this season, and I think he'll continue to get better.

 

His passing and opening the game up is excellent.

Nowhere near as bad as made out by some.