Liam Scales has promised that Celtic will return revitalised next season after their Scottish Cup final heartbreak against Aberdeen ended hopes of a domestic treble…
At Hampden Park on Saturday, the Hoops appeared poised to complete their sixth clean sweep in nine years after taking the lead in the 39th minute via an Alfie Dorrington own goal. But things changed late in the match when a Kasper Schmeichel error gifted Aberdeen an equaliser in the 83rd minute. The Pittodrie side eventually prevailed in a tense penalty shootout, with goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov saving efforts from Celtic captain Callum McGregor and Alistair Johnston, securing Aberdeen’s first Scottish Cup in 35 years.
Reflecting on the bitter conclusion to an otherwise successful season, defender Liam Scales remained upbeat about Celtic’s trajectory. As reported by TheHerald, Scales said: “It is disappointing, but we know now what we have to do next year,” he said. “It’s not nice to see them lifting the cup. But we’re full of hunger and drive, and when something like that happens, it kicks you up the backside. I’m looking forward to going again next season.”
Despite falling short of the treble, Celtic still clinched the Premiership title and League Cup, and impressed in the Champions League by reaching the knockout stages before bowing out to Bayern Munich.
“We came so close,” Scales added. “Our league campaign was brilliant, our Champions League campaign was brilliant, and we won the League Cup. There are a lot of positives. We dominated in the league and showed improvement in Europe. We’re going in the right direction.”
The defeat hit the Celtic captain, Callum McGregor, especially hard. His missed penalty, which he called “the worst moment I have ever had in football,” left him in tears at full-time.
“He leads by example,” Scales said of McGregor. “He was brave enough to step up first. He’s a top player, and it happens to everyone. That’s just the way he is — non-stop and always hungry to win. His reaction shows why he’s top class.”
As the dust settles, Celtic will look to regroup and recover, with eyes already set on next season.
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I certainly hope Celtic bounce back without Scales and Trusty in the squad. Maik Nawrocki is far superior at the back than either of these two. There has been a seriously worrying element of complacency in this Celtic team in the second half of the season, with big-money players like Idah and Engels underperforming. Kuhn has also been a big disappointment. These three players, together with Paulo Bernardo, are all Rodgers signings, as is Trusty, and that’s extremely worrying. He has spent £40m on players and yet they looked like a pub team against a really poor Aberdeen side.
And it’s not the first time this season they’ve let the supporters down badly. The struggled in all games against Rangers, lost to Hibs and lowly St. Johnstone and had to rely on a late penalty to draw with Dundee. I think this points to Brendan Rodgers not being a good talent spotter. His expensive recruits have too often failed to turn up and that game yesterday summed up how average (or lazy) they are. It’s really concerning to see how much Rodgers has spent on players and how poor this team has too often performed. Can he be trusted to spend even more this summer? I don’t trust him on that front.