Celtic’s 6-0 win over Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership was the biggest win of the season so far for Brendan Rodgers.
TBR Celtic told yesterday how the Celtic manager picked his players up for the game after they had hit a low in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Whatever he said and how he delivered it worked because Celtic were blistering in their demolition of The Dons.
But it seems that Rodgers also gave one Celtic player his very own pep talk as he was about to face a side that he spent all of last season in the trenches with.
Rodgers said [Daily Record print edition page 43], “Liam Scales was outstanding. I said to him on Saturday, ‘You’re playing against your team-mates, you know these guys, don’t try to dress it up and be too clever. Show how much you have developed and improved’.
“He was brilliant.”
Brendan Rodgers’ Liam Scales talked worked for Celtic
Rodgers certainly knows how to man-manage his players because after Rodgers’ pep-talk, Scales had a tremendous game for Celtic.
Rated 7.7 by football site SofaScore, Scales made four clearances as he helped Celtic keep a clean sheet.
The Republic of Ireland international also won 100% of his ground duels and seven out of his 11 aerial duels.
Scales also had 140 touches of the ball with a passing success rate of 91%. He also successfully delivered four out of seven long ball attempts.
The 25-year-old’s Celtic story has been remarkable this season. TBR Celtic have given Scales plenty of column inches as we tracked his progress in the Hoops first team.
His rise from the cold to becoming a fully-fledged Irish international should inspire those within Celtic Park to realise that if you work hard enough and take your chance when it comes then a successful Celtic career could await you.
In other news, ‘Really pleased’… Brendan Rodgers says £2m Celtic player has improved so much recently