Celtic defender on the form slump that left him looking for a new job

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.

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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.

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“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.

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“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.”