LIAM SCALES dreamed of being a tricky winger when he was a little kid.
Then he grew up and became a centre-half.
Hoops stars enjoy lunchtime banter at Lennoxtown[/caption]
After that, his ambition to follow in the footsteps of his idol Damian Duff became a thing of the past.
Scales is now a rock at the back for Celtic and Republic of Ireland, but he still loves how Brendan Rodgers is giving him the chance to show his ball skills.
He said: “It depends on who we play against. But if teams sit off then the centre-backs have a lot of the ball and if I can step into the game it might provoke a press and create some space for a midfielder. I do have license to do that.
“I love defending my box, but I also enjoy being on the ball.
“A lot of the times at Celtic you are high in their half and it’s part of the game I’ve worked on.
“I wasn’t always a centre-half. As a kid I would play higher up the pitch in centre mid or the wing.
“I wasn’t a bad winger until I got to about 12 and shot up, I got lanky and lost my pace, so I dropped back.
“When I was a kid I would have looked at Damien Duff, who was a left footer on the wing. I wasn’t one for coming inside. It was beat a man and get the ball across.
“But once I took that stretch I had to adapt.
“I then went to centre mid and eventually left-back.
“I’ve mainly been left-back or centre-back in the senior game, though. I’m quite happy where I am.
“If I was still a winger I don’t think I’d be at Celtic!”
Scales is loving life as a Celtic player right now.
He has grabbed the chance Rodgers gave him at the start of the season and is on the verge of signing a new deal.
It’s a world away from the last transfer window when he looked destined to leave.
He said: “The word I’d use is settled. Last time I was unsure about what would happen, but things have gone well and I’m happy here. I can focus on my football.
“I do feel more established now. It took a couple of months to feel like that, but I’ve played almost 30 games so far this season.
“It’s been consistent, but football’s a mad game and things can change, so you don’t want to get too comfortable.
“There’s no update contract-wise. If there are any updates it will be through my agent.
“I just focus on the football. I’m relaxed. I’ve been at other clubs when that stuff has affected my game, so I’ve put it to the back of my mind.
“If it happens, it happens, that’s the way I look at it.”
Scales moved into defence after playing as a winger in his youth[/caption]
He has established himself in Brendan Rodgers’ first-choice back-line this season[/caption]
Parkhead team-mate Matt O’Riley was this week linked with a big-money move, with Atletico Madrid already having a bid rejected.
But that hasn’t stopped the dressing-room banter.
Scales said: “If we’re in the canteen and something comes on Sky Sports News we’ll have a laugh and a joke about it.
“It’s not taken too seriously, because we all know that the reality can be different. But nothing changed for Matt. You wouldn’t even know its been thrown about. That’s how professional he is.
“But maybe we’ll chuck him in a cage until February!
“It’s probably more normal than you’d think when the transfer window is open.
“Obviously a couple of people might leave and others might come in. But the core of the squad stays the same.
“It depends on where you are in the team and if you’re playing or not.
“For most of us, nothing changes. The talk is just part of football.
“If players are going well then there is going to be interest in them.
“We know if someone leaves there are people to come in because the depth of the squad is very good.
“No one is worried about it. We have a bit of banter.”
For Celtic, the last few months have been all about improving on the training pitch and becoming more slick with the ball.
Scales said: “We realised we needed to get the speed back into our game and it’s been really good.
“We got a bit away from our structure, but we got back to it and ever since it’s been a lot faster.
“The break was also there to refresh us and it’s been really good since we got back in. We’ve had a mini pre-season to get back into the groove.
“Now we are all ready to kick on.
“Obviously there were a couple of negatives in the first half of the season, like not winning the League Cup and maybe we could have got more results in Europe, where our home performances were good and we struggled a bit away from home.
“We looked at all of that and realised there’s room to improve in the second half of the season.”
Under Rodgers the standards are extremely high.
The Hoops star has excelled at home and in Europe[/caption]
Brendan rodgers has had a big impact since returning to the club, he says[/caption]
Scales admitted: “Setting challenges is a big part of what the manager does and he’s very good at it.
“As players we need to take that on board and improve.
“Obviously we want to win the league and Scottish Cup.
“It’s more about doing the right things every week and we know that will eventually win us trophies.”
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