'It has been hard for me at Celtic, I am not going to lie': Confessions of team's former elastoplast solution

Liam Scales helped Celtic record a dramatic 2-1 win over Motherwell.

The Irish defender spent last season on loan at Aberdeen and was regarded as little more than an elastoplast solution to the defensive headaches Brendan Rodgers was left with following Carl Starfelt’s departure and Cameron Carter-Vickers’ move to the treatment room. If the Celtic support were unconvinced by Scales’ credentials, he has offered a decent retort with the performances he has produced in recent weeks. More importantly, perhaps, is what he has proven to himself. And there was a telling remark into the personal journey of the 25-year-old as he looked forward to Wednesday night’s Champions League game against Lazio.

“It's good for me to get minutes and get a run of games because it has been hard for me at Celtic, I am not going to lie,” he said after Saturday’s dramatic 2-1 league win over Motherwell. "It [Feyenoord] showed me personally that I can play at that level, really. I had never played in a Champions League game and to go there up against the Dutch champions was big for me. And up until the second sending off I thought we were comfortable. So I took from that game that I can be comfortable playing at that level. There is room for improvement – there always is. But if I can go and perform in the Champions League personally and us as a team, we should really keep it going on weekends and in the league too.”

The bar will rise considerably again on Wednesday night as Celtic host the Serie A side in their opening home game of the competition. This time a year ago Scales was part of the chorus at Celtic Park as Ange Postecoglou’s side took Real Madrid with the defender making the trip from Pittodrie to watch the game. It will be an entirely different experience this week as he finds himself charged with keeping the Italians at bay.

"I haven't experienced it [Celtic Park on a Champions League night] as a player,” he said. "I was there against Real Madrid last year when I was on loan at Aberdeen, so I experienced it from the stands and it was amazing. I can't wait to experience it on the pitch. It's definitely a tough place for other teams to come. If we can pick up points at home it can leave us in a good position. We have to make it a fortress and take points off these big teams when they come to Celtic Park. We know we can because we have the ability. We need to make it really difficult for them and see how well we can do in the group.”

Those sentiments may seem ambitious given Celtic’s recent return in Europe’s premier competition across recent seasons. Postecoglou’s side managed just two points as they finished bottom of the group last term with Rodgers will remember all too well the sobering experiences in this tournament during his first tenure. Lazio have their own issues. They lost 2-0 to AC Milan at the weekend to continue their inauspicious start to the season - they have won just two games in the opening round of Serie A fixtures - with domestic pressure mounting.

"A lot of these Champions League games are all about digging in for each other and showing character,” reflected Scales. “The fans will be right behind us because they know how much we had to dig in to get the points on Saturday.”