Brendan Rodgers has been thrilled to see Liam Scales step away from the Celtic exit door and show himself as Champions League class.
And the delighted manager admits not overthinking things has helped the entire unit make big strides forward as they
step into the next key stage of the campaign. Rodgers has settled right back into life at Parkhead and has been building things up through the opening stages of his second spell at the helm. The boss is seeing plenty to please and few individuals have come further to the fore than Scales.
Rodgers admitted recently that the defender’s excellent recent performances have been one of the biggest surprises of his coaching career. Scales earned senior Republic of Ireland recognition in the wake of his Celtic displays which also incorporated impressive showings against Feyenoord and Lazio in Europe’s elite competition. Rodgers expanded on the reasoning behind his statement as he said: “It’s just I hadn’t seen a lot of Liam. I didn’t see a lot of him at Aberdeen.
“But probably the feeling was for him and around the club that he wanted to go and play and continue playing. Over the course of pre-season, he had played, but maybe with one eye on thinking he was leaving.
“But I said to him you just never know. Just stay, work hard, stay focused. It’s not so much in Scotland because he’s played in Scotland in a really good club in Aberdeen, so has shown that he can play.
“The big surprise for me was when he stepped up to the Champions League level. He looked accomplished and did very, very well.
“In a matter of weeks he has gone from a player who has established himself in the team, – and he knows he needs to keep that consistent level – but he’s gone from thinking he’s maybe leaving to playing regularly in the team, to playing in the Champions League and making his international debut.
“That’s how football can work for you if you stay focused, work hard and stay concentrated and I’m delighted for him. Consistency is the name of the game for him.”
As well as Scales, several of Rodgers’ new stars have progressed since the start of the season and there’s been a knitting process. The gaffer is seeing the integration with established stars and also his small adjustments and alterations paying off.
Rodgers said: “I’ve settled in really well and thoroughly enjoyed being back. I’ve enjoyed working with the players and it feels like we are at home. Steadily as we have gone through the season, the players have become more attuned to what I’m asking from them.
“Sometimes when you come into a club, and especially with the team having success before, there’s maybe a feeling there’s going to be a lot of change but my observations were it didn’t need a lot.
“It was just certain tweaks within it of what I wanted to see and sometimes that can get overthought.”
The champions have won five straight Premiership matches since their goalless draw with St Johnstone in August and speaking on Celtic TV, Rodgers said: “In that game, there were lots of elements where there was, believe it or not, too much thinking going on in the game.
“I like players not just to run but to think and run. But there was a bit more thinking going into it than what needed to be.
“From there, we were able to identify areas on the field and continue with the game model in how we’ve been working and from that point, the players have been brilliant.”
Rodgers is looking for Celtic to pick up where they left off after the second international break of the campaign. Skipper Callum McGregor and defender Greg Taylor are back from a Scotland camp where the country secured progress to Euro 2024.