The stuff of dreams for Liam Scales as he joins Celtic…
Liam Scales is delighted to have joined Celtic as the last-day flurry of action saw the young Irishman joined by the latest trio of Celts, Giorgos Giakoumakis from VVV-Venlo, Jota from Benfica and Cameron Carter-Vickers from Spurs to cap off a busy and fruitful transfer window for the club.
And after taking in the working conditions at Lennoxtown, he still can’t quite believe it’s all happening.
📺🇮🇪 𝔼𝕩𝕔𝕝𝕦𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝔹𝕙𝕠𝕪, 𝕃𝕚𝕒𝕞 𝕊𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕤!
“It’s the stuff of dreams for any Irish boy. It’s Celtic. It’s a top club.”
The full interview is available now for all subscribers on #CelticTV ⤵️https://t.co/g6vsKj69Io pic.twitter.com/lodtTE8Ls6
— Celtic TV (@CelticTV) September 1, 2021
The 23-year-old said: “It’s the stuff of dreams for any Irish boy – it’s Celtic. It’s a top club and as a kid if you’re growing up in Ireland, and someone asked you as a 12 or 13-year-old, ‘Who do want to play for?’ it’s always been Celtic and whatever club you support.
“Obviously there’s the Irish connection and I have friends and family who are Celtic supporters so it’s a really proud moment. I played for my local team, Arklow Town up until I was about 16 and I moved to UCD where I developed. I was there for three years under Collie O’Neill, he was great for me and then I moved on to Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght
“I suppose I just kicked on and I won a league there with Rovers. It was an unbelievable 18 months for me as I developed an awful lot there and here I am. It’s been unbelievable so far – the facilities, the training ground, the people, it’s great and it’s great to be here finally and I’m just looking forward to getting to work and getting going now.
“Obviously there’s a new manager and loads of new players brought in so it’s a great time for Celtic and I’m just delighted to be a part of it. I can’t wait to kick on and try to get into the team – it’s a big season.”
The new Celtic star added: “Over the years I’ve played in plenty of positions. I suppose when I was younger I was a left-sided midfielder and I kind of dropped back. At UCD I played mainly as a centre-back and I played a bit of left-back there as well, and in my first season at Shamrock Rovers I played centre-back. But with injuries to players this season I was put out left and I did quite well.
“So I suppose I’m a versatile left-sided defender and I can play anywhere between the three positions – centre-back, left wing-back, left-back – as long as I’m playing, I’m happy.”
🇮🇪 New Bhoy, Liam Scales, tells us how he worked his way from a small town in County Wicklow to becoming a Celtic player.
🗣️ Full extended interview coming soon to https://t.co/yBgDKx9r33 pic.twitter.com/rplAjvvTMi
— Celtic TV (@CelticTV) September 1, 2021
Scales will be even happier playing the style of football that Ange Postecoglou has introduced and he can’t wait to get started.
The Irishman said: “It’s high-intensity and they have a lot of possession with the full-backs coming inside to midfield. It’ll take some time to get used to the system but I’m already working on it now and I’ve been watching the games.
“It’s similar in a way to Shamrock Rovers as it’s a possession-based team, so I know I have the experience to go and fit right in. It’s a massive step up, I know that myself and I know I’m going to have to be on it to make that step, but I’m more than ready. I’m really happy to be here and to be able to show that I can do it at this level.
“I know it’s a massive club with a massive fanbase, and a massive fanbase back home in Ireland so I just want to do my family proud, and do well.”
And back home in Ireland there a few people Scales would like to thank for getting him this far. He said: “Collie at UCD helped me a lot, he put a lot of faith in me as a young player. I played a lot there, I played a lot of senior games which a lot of young lads don’t really get the chance to do.
“So that helped me an awful lot, and obviously Stephen Bradley the manager at Shamrock Rovers, as well as Glenn Cronin and Stephen McPhail, they all helped me an awful lot to develop me as player and a person as well, so I owe them an awful lot.”
Give him a shot in the first team against Ross C. See how he goes. Maybe Starfelt could have a rest. Starfelt is nowhere near as bad as some are saying. He does most things right but his mistakes have been costly