There would have been several Celtic players delighted to see Martin O’Neill return to the dugout.
The Wilfried Nancy reign was a nightmare, and one man who suffered in his crazy, chaotic, and clueless system was Liam Scales.
It eventually resulted in Scales being dropped from Celtic’s XI, and it probably did him the world of good because everyone suffered on the pitch, whilst he stayed away from the scorching spotlight.
But on Saturday, Scales was back at the heart of the defence, alongside Auston Trusty, as Celtic beat Dundee United 4-0, and Pat Bonner was full of praise for the centre-back.
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Pat Bonner on Liam Scales’ role for Celtic against Dundee United
Everyone was puzzled by what Nancy wanted from his Celtic players, and thankfully, O’Neill, alongside Shaun Maloney, have brought back simplicity and common sense.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Bonner noticed how Scales was back to his usual left-sided centre-back role, where he could and did do everything that made him comfortable.
Bonner explained how, under Nancy, the Republic of Ireland international was practically playing as a ‘left winger’, but that wasn’t the case against Dundee United.
“The position he is playing against Dundee United, it’s where he is comfortable, left centre-back,” said Bonner.
“He will defend from that point of view, of course. But now, the play is in front of him. He is able to get the ball. He is able to hit that nice side pass off his second touch to either Tounekti or Tierney, who is on his left-hand side.
“So, he is very, very comfortable, even when he is high up the pitch. He is almost playing an inside left position, and he knows he can recover from there.
“When he was under Nancy, he was almost playing as a left winger at times, one he had to make a 30 or 40 yard run to get back into position. It just didn’t suit him whatsoever.
“He is one of many (who have benefited from the system change). Tierney also playing at left-back suits him rather than coming from a left centre-back.”
Is Liam Scales really undroppable for Celtic? Who could replace him?
Scales’ stats for Celtic against Dundee United
Both Scales and Trusty have found themselves in the same boat this season, being criticised and calls for them to be dropped.
In truth, with Cameron Carter-Vickers out long-term, the above duo are better together, and you presume that will be the case for the coming months, unless the club dips into the January transfer market.
Either way, this is how Scales rated against Dundee United:
- Minutes played: 90
- Shots: 1
- Key passes: 1
- Assists: 1
- Passes: 107
- PA%: 99.1
- Touches: 121
- Aerials won: 7
- Interceptions: 1
- Clearances: 3
- Blocked shots: 1
- WhoScored rating: 8.39
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