Five years on, Liam Scales reflects on his Celtic journey | OneFootball

Five years on from signing for Celtic, Liam Scales has reflected on the journey that has taken him from a young player looking for an opportunity to an established member of the first-team squad.

The Irish defender joined the Hoops in early September, 2021 and, after initially finding regular game time difficult to come by, spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Aberdeen.

That spell at Pittodrie would prove important in his development, and ahead of facing his former club tonight, Scales believes the experience helped prepare him for the demands of playing regularly at Celtic.

“I probably wasn’t ready when I moved over at first to come in and make a real impact.

“Obviously, the loan out to Aberdeen really helped me grow as a player and develop as a person and grow up a bit.” The Irish international said.

“Realising what it takes to play consistently at this level over time really helped. It’s been a great journey and I want to continue to improve. I feel like the best is yet to come.”

Scales returned to Celtic the following summer and began to establish himself in the side, with a 1-0 victory at Ibrox in September 2023 standing out as an important moment in his progression.

The defender was part of a youthful back line that helped Celtic secure a clean sheet and all three points, and he believes that performance helped build trust in what he could contribute.

“I feel like coming out of that game with a clean sheet and a 1-0 win, and defending really well, maybe I wasn’t trusted before that.” He said.

“After that, people maybe in the club and around realised that I could cut it at that level.

“From there, just playing regularly, you eventually feel like a main part of the group.”

Scales has since added league titles and cup success to his Celtic record, while also taking on greater responsibility within the squad and wearing the captain’s armband.

He credits the example set by captain Callum McGregor and other senior players with helping him grow into that role.

“When you have players like Cal and personalities like Cal, Jamesy, Cam and Ali Johnston around you, it makes it easier to move into that leadership role,” he said.

“You see how well they do it and you try to emulate that.

“You take little bits from how Cal lives his life and goes about matchday and try to lead by that example. He’s a perfectionist and that’s really helpful.”

That experience within the squad has taken on added importance following Celtic’s recent European disappointment.

And while Scales admitted that result remains a source of frustration, he stressed the importance of the senior players helping the group move forward together.

“We’re still really disappointed about the European result and I think we need to go on a good run now to make up for that.” He said.

“There are players who have been here for three, four or five years now. Myself, Cam and Ali know the club inside out, and I think it is down to us to support Cal and get the team moving in the right direction.

“We’ve big games coming up and we want to hit the ground running and pick up where we left off last season.”

The next of those games comes tonight against Aberdeen, and while many of the players and staff Scales worked with during his loan spell have since moved on, he remains familiar with the challenge the visitors will pose.

“We need to be strong. They’re going to be a physical test and they look quite solid and a decent side.” He added.

“We need to approach the game as we always do, win our duels and go from there.

“Hopefully we can control the game with the ball, be clinical and ruthless, and win.”

Fixtures

Celtic Vs. Aberdeen - Wed, Sep 2nd 2026, 19:45