It is very difficult to hold on to a starting spot for a club like Celtic. The pressure is to win almost every game. And even when you are doing well, there is always the possibility that the Hoops could try to improve in that position. Perhaps we have seen that happen this season when it comes to Brendan Rodgers' first-team.
One of Celtic's standout performers since the return of Rodgers has been Liam Scales. Even this season, he started strong and was even named the Man of the Match against Slovan Bratislava in the Champions League.
Celtic did sign another centre-back in the summer though. Auston Trusty was brought in from Sheffield United for a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £6 million.
That is a significant figure for Celtic. So, he was always expected to get his chances. Despite a shaky start, Rodgers continued to play the American international and now, he seems to have found his feet. That has resulted in Scales seemingly slipping down the pecking order and becoming the third-choice centre-back.
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Scales started for the Republic of Ireland recently. And he was hailed for his performance as they won 1-0 against Finland.
Of course, Scales is still playing a decent bit of football. But it feels like Cameron Carter-Vickers and Trusty are Rodgers' first-choice centre-back pairing right now. That should be evident from the fact that they started in the Scottish League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen and then again in the big game vs RB Leipzig in the Champions League a few days later.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Scales at Parkhead. It is far too early to think that he has lost his place in the starting XI. But the signs do seem to be pointing in that direction.