Liam Scales happy to bear the weight of history at Celtic as he opts for number worn by defensive legends

Liam Scales believes he is ready to follow in the footsteps of giants at Celtic after choosing to wear one of the most iconic shirt numbers in the club’s history.

Liam Scales (left) in action for Republic of Ireland's under-21 side against Italy in October 2019. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

The Irish defender has taken possession of squad number five at his new club following his €600,000 move from Shamrock Rovers in the closing days of the summer transfer window.

It’s a numeral synonymous with Billy McNeill, Celtic’s greatest ever captain, and which was more recently worn by Virgil van Dijk.

Scales, who has signed a four-year contract at Celtic, clearly lacks nothing in terms of confidence and ambition as he sets his sights on making his own mark in the east end of Glasgow.

New Celtic signing Liam Scales will wear the number five jersey which is synonymous with some of the club's greatest ever defenders. (Photo by Craig Foy / SNS Group)

“Obviously, it’s a massive number here and it’s a number I’ve worn before in my career as a defender,” says the affable 23-year-old.

“I had a part in choosing it. I noticed historically the players that have worn it who have had great Celtic careers. Hopefully I can do the same.

“At the end of the day, I think any number that I chose, I was always going to do as well as I could and work as hard as I could to get in the team and to be successful here.

“But just to wear such a famous number, it does inspire me rather than become daunting.”

Scales is keen to hit the ground running at Celtic and feels he is ready-made for a place in manager Ange Postecoglou’s starting line-up.

“There’s been no timeline discussed,” he adds. “It’s completely up to the manager. I love the thought of just being thrown straight into the deep end but at the end of the day, it’s not up to me.

“I feel ready and I suppose I’ve always been like that. I’ve always kind of looked forward to a challenge and a step up. At the end of the day, it’s not my decision.

“I have no preference where I play. I’ve played in back fives, back threes, back fours, as a centre-back, left-back or left wing-back.

“Over the last couple of seasons I’ve learned to play in each position almost equally as well.

“I was probably originally more comfortable as a centre-half, but after getting maybe 30 or 40 games under my belt as a left wing-back, it has improved me in that position as well.

“The main thing for me would be to get into the team regardless of what position it is. The manager hasn’t said anything to me about it yet.

“I’d say I’m ambitious, I’m young and just want to do as well as I can. I know this is a massive opportunity for me to progress in my career, so I think it’s the right mindset to have.

“If I was coming in here and thinking ‘I’m not ready, it’s going to take me a few months to get to certain levels’, it would make it a lot harder for me with that sort of mindset.

"I’ve been playing first-team football at a decent standard since I was 17 and I’ve moved up a level along the way. But the best way to learn is by playing in matches.

“I’m just really looking forward to the next month, the games coming up, and I’m just really focused on that.”

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