Liam Scales arrived at Celtic as a relatively unknown quantity towards the end of the summer transfer window. Having played for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland, Scales has already had question marks over whether or not he can make the step up at Celtic Park.
However, the player himself insists he has no qualms about taking on the mantle of Celtic defender if asked by Ange Postecoglou. He said: “It’s hard to believe how thick and fast things have been coming. The last couple of months have been hard to believe with how thick and fast things have been coming,” the former Shamrock Rovers defender told Pundit Arena.
“I’m enjoying myself, and I’m really happy with the move [to Celtic]. Being involved in the last international camp was the icing on the cake for me. That’s something that I have dreamed of since I was a kid so it’s been a great few months. But right now, I still have work to do. I need to get into the team here, and I want to get more international call-ups. I’m not just leaving it at that.”
Scales admits that the whole situation was a bit of a whirlwind for him, adding: “I heard there was there were clubs interested, and it was the start of August when we started to get a few phone calls,” Scales revealed. Out of the blue, the Celtic one came in.
“It wasn’t just a phone call saying there’s interest [from Celtic], it was a phone call saying the club, accepted a bid from Celtic. It was up to me then to go and negotiate. It’s such a big club, and I could barely believe it. I was just over the moon. Once it came in, I was happy with it. My advisor did all the work for me and he helped me out with the move and he got it over the line.”
“It was agreed between Celtic and Shamrock Rovers that I’d stay and play a couple of the European games for Rovers. It dragged on a little bit longer than most transfers, but it was only because of the agreement between Celtic and Rovers. Once it came in I was pretty set on it.”
The Irishman began his foray into football through his studies at University College Dublin (UCD), where he played football on a scholarship. He continued: “I never saw something like this happening at UCD. Just over two years ago I was still in UCD.”
“I was studying away and I was playing in a team that were struggling at the bottom of the Premier Division. At the time in UCD, I never really saw something like this happening. But as soon as I got to Rovers I learned a lot, improved as a player. The longer I was there, the more I believed I could go further and make another step up.”
The confidence that Scales exudes certainly bodes well for the potential pitfalls that Angeball can incur on players. With Celtic there comes a pressure not just to win, but to win well most of the time. It’s great to know the Irishman has complete confident in his ability to grow and adapt in new environments. It could be a matter of time before we see the big defender make his starting debut in the hooped jersey of Glasgow Celtic.
Paul Gillespie
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