The real reason Brendan Rodgers will persist with Liam Scales as Celtic’s back-up left back vs Livingston

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Liam Scales has been a very good servant for Celtic.

Scales was on the verge of a Celtic exit when Brendan Rodgers first arrived at the club but an injury crisis opened the door for his career revival.

Over the last two seasons, the Irish defender has been Rodgers’ go-to guy as Scales saw off competition from the likes of Auston Trusty, Maik Nawrocki and Gustaf Lagerbielke.

However, now, Scales is getting more game time than he probably should and it’s not because he has earned it.

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Brendan Rodgers’ damning verdict on Celtic’s Hayato Inamura offers Liam Scales reason

Scales has been deployed as a back-up left back to Kieran Tierney as the mystery surrounding Hayato Inamura at Celtic continues.

And here, the mystery is solved as Brendan Rodgers explains why Inamura has been nowhere near the Celtic match day squad.

Rodgers told the BBC Sportsound, “It’s very easy. He’s not quite at the level, as of yet, that I would expect.

“The plan for Ina was to come in and train and see where he was at, with the possibility of going out on loan, because he’s only had a year’s football.

“His defensive qualities aren’t at the level that would see me put him in against Lamine Yamal if I had to.

“It’s as simple as that. So that’s why he’s not involved.”

Here’s the thing, he’s not up against Lamine Yamal though, is he? Inamura is playing against Scottish teams and European side UEFA have ranked as 301 in the official rankings.

So that raises one big question.

Why did Celtic buy Hayato Inamura?

It’s a fairly simple question but one, when it’s answered, throws up another. If Rodgers doesn’t rate Inamura and he knew he needed a quality back-up for Tierney, why did he sign off on the purchase?

At 23, Inamura isn’t exactly at an age where he will increase his defensive capabilities to level in one loan season where he will all of a sudden be able to compete with Champions League players.

Or even Scottish-based players. Only Rodgers and the scouting team can answer that, because, after all, the Celtic manager has the final say on all players who come to the club, right?