Liam Scales admitting he once considered leaving Celtic only makes his current position even more impressive. A player whose future once looked uncertain is now tied to the club until 2030.
That says plenty about both Scales’ mentality and Celtic’s patience with him during difficult periods.
And now that he’s on the verge of facing Rangers in the biggest title fight Celtic have seen since the early 2000s, Scales admits how his Parkhead future could have been so different if he followed up on transfer interest in him earlier this season.
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Liam Scales has admitted Celtic exit thoughts were genuine
Scales was refreshingly honest when discussing his Celtic future after signing a new Celtic contract.
The defender admitted there had been outside interest during his five years at the club, even if nothing ever became serious enough to force an exit.
“I love it here,” Scales said, “I love living in Scotland. I love playing for the club and the longer I can do that, the better for me. I’m really happy with it.
“It had been ongoing for a couple of months. I suppose I played a big part this season and they wanted to show that they value me.
“I wanted to commit to the club because I would rather be here than anywhere else. It kind of worked for both parties.”
When pressed if there was ever a chance Scales could leave Celtic, the defender said, “There might have been interest, but nothing that really would have made me knock a door down to leave.
“At times, maybe when I wasn’t playing under previous managers, I would have been more interested, career-wise. In hindsight, I’m glad I never did [leave].”
Brendan Rodgers helped turn Scales into a core Celtic player
The biggest change has been trust.
Scales has gone from being on the edge of the squad to becoming one of Celtic’s most relied upon defenders. Ex-Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers repeatedly praised his consistency, and this season has backed that up completely.
The Irish international has made 52 appearances across all competitions this season, comfortably the busiest campaign of his Celtic career.
That simply would not have happened if Rodgers did not trust him.
Scales is now a core Celtic player rather than a stop-gap option. That makes his comments about earlier transfer interest even more significant because Celtic could easily have lost him during weaker moments in his Parkhead career.
Instead, both sides stayed committed to the process.
Now Scales has a contract running until 2030.
Considering where he stood only a few years ago, that represents a remarkable turnaround.
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