Scales was Celtic’s main man on Wednesday night but he’s adamant there’s more to come from him despite hitting a personal peak.
Liam Scales reached a Champions League peak as he grabbed Man of the Match in Celtic’s win over Feyenoord.
But the modest Irishman dished out huge praise to hero partners Stephen Welsh and Gustaf Lagerbielke after they seized their own moments for Euro glory. Scales delivered a superb performance against the Dutch as his team ended the club’s 10-year wait for a home win in the group stage.
The defender’s contribution summed up a progression which saw him start all six of the Group E matches.
Scales’ stunning rise was capped with the MOM award and he said: “It was the peak of my campaign getting the win, but I wouldn’t say it’s my peak in general. Look, I just need to not get complacent, keep on doing what I have been doing. Over the six games we’ve had tough stages, we have played with nine men and 10 men in games. I have had to sort of dig in and learn how to cope at this level.
“I feel like (Wednesday) was the peak of it for me. I am just glad I could help the team, but it is a nice personal achievement to get that in the locker. I just need to stay hungry. It is a cliche I suppose, but I just need to make sure I don’t get complacent and keep playing as many games as I can.”
Scales was quick to share out his credit to colleagues with Welsh making a superb return after a four-month injury lay-off as he impressively deputised for Cameron Carter-Vickers. When his race was run, Lagerbielke took his place in the backline and ventured forward to head a last-gasp winner.
Scales saluted the pair and said: “The depth of the squad is amazing. Welshy came in and he was brilliant for 75 minutes. He obviously hasn’t played much football, he is just back from an injury. To get through 75 minutes at that intensity was a big achievement for him. He was top class.
“Then Gus comes on and gets the winner. He has had to be patient to get minutes, so I am delighted that he came on and got the winner. I don’t think anyone could have deserved it more.”
Wth the trio all playing key roles, Celtic were able to soak up the feelgood of a Champions League win at the 16th time of asking overall. Qualification may have been out of the question, but the importance was still evident to the squad.
Scales said: “On paper it didn’t mean much, but to us it meant a lot. We were desperate to get a win in this campaign and it’s great that we did. We were good in spells in the campaign, but not good enough to win games. To get that win is brilliant. I think we deserved it. We were really good in the first half, we took the game to them and when we had to defend in the second half we did.
“To concede a late goal and to then come back and score in the last few minutes was brilliant and showed great character. We are all delighted.”
Celtic’s youngsters can take confidence forward from the success as Scales continued: “Obviously we have to go and win the league. That is massive. We want to be part of the Champions League every year, but we have to go and win the league to get there. Hopefully we do. If we do, we will definitely take confidence from this win. It is just great to win a game, at home especially. I feel like our home performances were all quite good. Away let us down. We need to learn from that and I am sure we will.”
After that Euro high, Scales will now get his head down with the rest of the squad and aim to do the business on the domestic front. The 25-year-old will keep striving for more progression with his award on the sideboard.
It was hard to imagine Scales in this position as a move to Aberdeen looked on the cards last summer and he agreed: “I didn’t know where I was going to be and what I was going to be doing. I never foreseen this. I was looking at what my immediate move was going to be and if there was going to be a move. I am delighted with how it has worked out.
“I got a bit of luck with injuries. But it has been brilliant. I wouldn’t say it’s a turnaround, I don’t think I was going in the wrong direction in the first place. But it has kicked on now. I always felt if I got a chance to play consistently here I could do well. It was just about getting that chance.
“With the quality of the squad, it was going to be difficult. I am just delighted I have. For it to go the way it has since I have got in has been brilliant. I just need to keep playing the way I have been playing and stay hungry. We want to win trophies. I haven’t achieved much here.
“In the first season I was here, we won the League Cup and the Premiership, but I didn’t feature that much. Going out on loan last season, I missed out on a successful season. I want to have that for myself.”
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