Giorgos Giakoumakis and Liam Scales have proven big points to Celtic boss this week

By David Walton

October 21, 2021

Giorgos Giakoumakis and Liam Scales have a right to feel positive about how their week at Celtic has unfolded.

One had been struggling with persistent injury and fitness setbacks. That’s despite arriving in a £2.5m deal and having been here for almost 2 months already [Sky Sports].

The other, meanwhile, had been deemed “not quite ready” by his manager over the last few weeks [The Herald]. A verdict that looked pretty damning if we’re being serious about it. Especially considering there’s nothing wrong with his fitness levels and he’d been playing for Shamrock Rovers regularly before his arrival in Glasgow.

However, both men have had big weeks, and have proven points that simply needed to be answered. This was down to both men’s respective performances in the Europa League win over Ferencvaros on Tuesday night.

Giakoumakis was given the final 20 minutes against the Hungarian side and made a big impact on our front-line. He managed to show incredible technical ability with a decent overhead kick effort. He then played a key role in goal number 2 with some brillaint off-ball movement that opened up the space for David Turnbull.

Another run was then key for another one-v-one opportunity Turnbull shanked wide.

Giorgos Giakoumakis and Liam Scales ready for more Celtic exposure

Giakoumakis showed promising hold-up play and proved to be a real physical threat. Supporters have been left itching to see more of him and no wonder as he proved a different option for Ange. His injury and fitness-building problems appear to be over, and it’s time for him to kick on.

As for Scales, he was given only his second-ever Celtic outing. His first came in a League Cup win at home to Raith Rovers. His cameo on Tuesday, however, saw him face much bigger fish. It’s fair to say, based on how lively and energetic he looked, he showed he can compete at this level.

Scales was a constantly willing runner as he looked to link-up with the left-winger and offer himself as an option. You also have to say his passing on the night was crisp too. He may have only managed 11 passes in his cameo, but all of him hit their mark. Not to mention he pulled off 2 decent long-range balls that were also accurate [WhoScored?].

For a player deemed not ready only a couple of weeks ago, Scales isn’t proving to be any less effective than Adam Montgomery or Boli Bolingoli. When it comes to the left-back chat, he deserves to be right at the heart of it.

Giakoumakis had to prove he could make an impact and give us a sustained runout on the pitch. Scales, meanwhile, had to show that he was ready and capable of being an option after a massive step-up from Shamrock Rovers.

Both proved their point emphatically. It’s no wonder supporters want to see a bit more of both in the coming weeks.

In other news, Karamoko Dembele surgery opens up big Celtic future question