Scales seen was seen as a weak link in makeshift celtic defence last September but he returns for Rangers clash as an undisputed first choice.
Liam Scales arrived at Ibrox back in September knowing he was heading into a game which had the potential to make him or break him as a Celtic player.
Eight months on, the Irishman has hardly missed a single minute since. And on Sunday he’ll make the same short journey fully intending to cement his status as a dependable rock at the heart of Brendan Rodgers’ defence – rather than his previous visit as ‘needs must’ emergency cover in the midst of a critical early season manpower crisis.
Scales may have started the season unsure if he’d make it as far as the end of the summer transfer window but he almost visibly grew in stature as he helped batten down the hatches during that 1-0 win behind enemy lines. No wonder then that he’s licking his lips in anticipation of what may be about to come on his return there weekend.
He said: “That game played a big part in how my season has gone, I think. It was a big challenge early on for me.
“As far as playing centre half for Celtic was concerned, I think it was only my second time after St Johnstone the previous week. It was massive for me to kick on. I have good memories of it. When you go out there and the game starts, it’s mental – the intensity of it. So to get through all of that with a clean sheet and a win was a big achievement and it felt brilliant.
“I think at the time I was going with the mindset that I didn’t have much to lose. An opportunity was in front of me that I didn’t think I would have. I was like, ‘Right – I have this now – just go and do my thing’ and take the opportunity,’. That’s what happened.”
And yet Scales was well aware that many of Celtic’s supporters feared the worst in the build-up to that win. He went on: ”We were conscious a little bit of the outside noise because it is everywhere in the week leading up to the game.
“It didn’t really affect us in the sense that we still had belief that we could go and perform well, keep a clean sheet and beat them there. I think the main difference this time is that I’ve experienced it now. I’m not going in there unaware of what it’s like. I know what’s coming. But my approach to the game hasn’t changed at all since then. That will remain the same.”
It’s now a question of whether he gets to enjoy this visit as much as his first. Scales said: “Before the game, the atmosphere is loud and intimidating. You just have to accept it and get on with it.
“Before the game, it’s harder to block it out but when you are playing all of that goes out of the window. All you are focused on is what’s going on on the pitch.
“Before the game is a good time just take it in to prepare for what’s coming. But once the first whistle goes, that naturally all goes out of the window.
“It’s difficult to hear things from the side when you are so focused 0n what’s going on on the pitch! The adrenaline is pumping but there’s a sense of calm as well that we have going into every game just before we go out because you can’t go out there out of control. You need to be in control of your emotions. That’s another factor.
“But there is a level of excitement and nerves. It’s brilliant. That’s why you play the game.”
This time around, Celtic are reaching the end of an injury crisis, rather than just starting out on one. But Scales will remain a constant nonetheless. He said: “The timing is good for us all to be fit coming into the run-in and we obviously want to go there with the strongest team possible.
“We know though that whoever plays is well capable of doing well and doing a job for us. I think all in all though we are in a good place, we’ve had a good week’s work and we’re looking forward to it.”
“Yeah I think we have to be prepared for that because of the atmosphere, the history and because of the rivalry. There always is that extra little bit of intensity, so we have to prepare for that, but obviously it’s a tactical battle as well.
“It’s a game of football, so we need to be tactically right and not completely playing off our emotions. So, it’s probably going to be a bit of both, but we’re expecting a high intensity game and that is what we are preparing for.”
“It’s a massive game for the title run obviously, but I don’t think it is going to decide it, so the result isn’t going to determine the whole outcome. We have plenty of games to play after. We want to go there and win, that’s how we’re looking at it, but we know that if we don’t we have to play them again and there are other games to play as well.
“It’s still three points and it’s worth the same as every other game, so that’s how we’ve got to look at it as well. But we definitely want to go there and win, that’s how we approach every single game.”
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