Darren O’Dea has given a passionate defence of Liam Scales.
The defender has often divided opinion among Celtic fans since being transformed from a fringe player to an ever-present starter by Brendan Rodgers.
He has remained a mainstay under Martin O’Neill, being rewarded with a surprise contract extension to 2030 last week.
But O’Dea has defended his fellow Irish left-footed centre-half, saying that Scales is ‘underrated’.
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Darren O’Dea defends ‘underrated’ Liam Scales at Celtic
Speaking about the contract extension on Open Goal, O’Dea said: “People think building a squad is like ‘get the best players you possibly can’, which let’s not say they aren’t…
“But there’s so much more to building a squad that comes into it.
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“Celtic are about to go through a huge transition as well. A huge transition. I wouldn’t want to be losing any more people with know-how, because they’re going to bring in a lot of new faces.
“Liam Scales is an absolute… you can’t even argue with it. The guy is playing all the time.
“And something I’ve learnt in first team football as well, that won’t be ground-breaking, is: you can have a player, just him being available all the time, that is a massive strength.
“Celtic are playing 60 games a year. He’s available all the time. Now, fans don’t necessarily want to hear that.
“But he’s a better player than Carter-Vickers now, [because he’s fit]. The reality is that Carter-Vickers hasn’t contributed this year, and Carter-Vickers has had injuries previously, as well.
“He’s an outstanding footballer, but Liam Scales is there all the time. You can rely on him all the time, and I agree. He’s underrated.”
Luke McCowan and James Forrest have also been handed new contracts by Celtic this week, despite uncertainty over who will be their manager next season.
Do you agree with Celtic’s decision to give Liam Scales a new contract?
Liam Scales under all three Celtic managers this season
Under O’Neill and Rodgers this season, Scales has started every league game, mostly alongside a fellow left-footer in Auston Trusty.
An injury to Cameron Carter-Vickers has forced Celtic’s hand for most of the season.
But under Wilfried Nancy, things were totally different. Of the Frenchman’s six league games in charge, Scales started just two.
Instead, Anthony Ralston and Kieran Tierney were used as centre-backs in an unorthodox back-three with Trusty in the centre.
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