Liam Scales welcomes the challenge new signings will bring

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The Celtic Star

·17 de julho de 2025

Liam Scales welcomes the challenge new signings will bring

Liam Scales insists he welcomes the idea of Celtic adding reinforcements at the back, believing firmly that he can keep his spot in central defence regardless of who comes in…

Liam Scales of Celtic Sporting Lisbon v Celtic, Pre Season Friendly, Football, Estadio Algarve, Portugal – 16 Jul 2025 Estadio Algarve Portugal Photo Carlos RodriguesShutterstock

Last season, the Republic of Ireland international featured 39 times across all competitions for the Hoops, partnering alongside Cameron Carter Vickers, Auston Trusty, and occasionally Maik Nawrocki.

Even with the arrival of Hayato Inamura from J-League outfit Albirex Niigata – a player, like Scales, comfortable both at centre-back and left-back – the 26 year-old is well accustomed to the comings and goings of transfer windows during his time at the club.

Vídeos OneFootball

Scales started alongside Dane Murray last night during Celtic’s 2-0 victory over Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon in Estadio Algarve.

Speaking via Daily Record, Scales said: “It is a big club, so you expect them to sign a player for each position every summer. That is just part of it. That is how it has been for the last few years, so I wouldn’t be thinking about that at all. Personally, I am focusing more on getting sharp and fit and ready to fight for that jersey for that first game of the season.”

Kenny, Scales and Ralston. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

“I can’t wait. All the training we are doing is leading up to that first day. We want to start the way we finished the league last season. We want to win the league again; that is the goal, but we also have that big Champions League qualifiers ahead of us, too, and it is massive for us to play in that competition. We are already really focused on that. I feel we have so much to look forward to, and we are all eager to get started.”

Although Scales was a regular for Brendan Rodgers’ side last season, he spent part of this year battling through injury to stay on the pitch. The Irishman joked that suffering a broken jaw was not on his list of ambitions for the 2024/25 season.

Scales said: “It was the first time I had that type of injury. Once I had the operation, I had a week on liquids and then another week where I could only eat soft foods. I was basically eating soup through a straw for that first week! I lost quite a bit of weight, but it did not take me long to put it back on – I like my food! It is all sorted now.”

“I have a couple of plates in there, so it’s probably stronger now than it was before. It happened against St Mirren. I made a tackle, and there was a collision, with me being hit in the side of the face by his shoulder. I actually gave away a foul, and they scored from the free kick. But thankfully, we ended up winning 5-2.”

“It kept me out for four or five weeks, which was not great. I had only ever broken my nose or had some black eyes down the years, but this was the first time I had hurt my jaw. It is okay now, though. It is part of the game, especially in Scotland, where it is quite physical. I was just happy it was not an injury below the waist. It is not going to affect me anymore, so it is all good.”

As Celtic prepare to compete on four fronts this season, balancing domestic fixtures with European action, Rodgers will need to rely on squad rotation to keep his players fresh and manage their minutes effectively.

For Scales, the aim is to feature in as many matches as possible, but he recognises that at a club like Celtic, that will not always be the case.

Liam Scales. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Scales outlined: “Overall, I think I was happy with last season. I played over 40 games all in, and that included a spell out after I broke my jaw. If I look at it that way, I did not miss much football. Look, you do want to start every game, and there were times when I didn’t, and that was disappointing. That is just football, though. Overall, it was a successful season for us, and it was good to be part of that. I felt I played my part.”

“When you are not paying, you just need to suck it up. He [Rodgers] is a brilliant manager, and he has his reasons, so you can’t argue with that. You just need to accept it and hope that you can get back in.”

“But there were times when I played alongside Auston and other times it was Cameron. The three of us played a similar number of minutes. Maybe I didn’t play as much, but I felt all three of us worked well together, given that two played and one did not.

Scales added: “The thing is, with the amount of games we have with the Premiership and Champions League – and we go the distance in the cup competitions, which we did – it amounts to around 60 games in a season. That means there are so many opportunities to play and everyone realises that.”

“When you are on the sidelines, you just have to be patient and ready to go in when called upon, because you will be, as it will be hectic.”

Conor Spence

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, out 5 September 2025. Available to pre-order now.