Liam Scales has not had a straightforward route to the top of Scottish soccer. He had trials with Manchester City and Bristol City as a youngster, but failed to earn a contract with either of the English sides.
The Irishman played for University College Dublin and Shamrock Rovers before earning his move to Celtic. However, he only made five Scottish Premiership appearances in his first season with the Hoops. This led to him being sent on loan to Aberdeen.
Scales got game time at Aberdeen, where he played in 39 games in all competitions. He has since been a regular in the Celtic team, but has not been without his critics. He has been targeted by fans in European games, which is unfair as the Hoops have underperformed as a whole when competing on the continent.
A mistake in the Old Firm against Rangers in January of this year did not help Scales' reputation. This error was highlighted by Celtic legend and now pundit, Chris Sutton. This match ended in a 3-0 loss to the Hoops, so Scales was unfortunate to be scapegoated.
Liam Scales is starting to change Celtic fans' perception of him
Scales has been an ever-present for Celtic this season, under Brendan Rodgers and now Martin O'Neill. He has played 90 minutes in all of the Hoops' 14 Scottish Premiership matches. During another impressive performance in a 2-1 win against Hibernian in the league yesterday, many fans have taken to social media to praise Scales.
One supporter wrote on Reddit, "Liam Scales... Absolutely brilliant this season so far. Turning into a great player for Celtic. Very dependable." Another user added, "Outstanding, proved many of us wrong."
Celtic are set to appoint a new manager following their match with Dundee this Wednesday. O'Neill has done a great job at steadying the ship following Rodgers' resignation. This is impressive considering O'Neill had not managed a team for six years.
Wilfried Nancy of the Columbus Crew is set to take over as Celtic's new manager. Given Scales' form, he will be expected to continue to play alongside Auston Trusty at the center of Celtic's defense.
The Hoops are currently just two points behind Heart of Midlothian in the Scottish Premiership. There is still a lot of soccer to be played this season. However, providing Celtic keep their top performers such as Scales fit, then they still have a great chance of retaining the Scottish Premiership title.