CHECK OUT: Liam Scales shares ‘brilliant’ plan he has for when Celtic travel to Borussia Dortmund.
CHECK OUT: Liam Scales shares ‘brilliant’ plan he has for when Celtic travel to Borussia Dortmund.
Celtic are preparing for a monumental Champions League clash against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night.
With two of football’s most revered fanbases colliding, the visiting support will play their part in driving manager Brendan Rodgers’ side forward in their mission to bolster their hopes of Champions League progression.
From a personal standpoint, a start for Liam Scales at Signal Iduna Park would cap a remarkable rise to prominence for the Irishman.
Scales was once a peripheral figure at Celtic, the 25-year-old has now made 66 appearances in total for the Hoops and played his part in claiming three domestic trophies.
Although he played every minute of Champions League football last year for Celtic, Scales believes this may be the greatest test of his capabilities in green and white so far and has laid out how he plans to meet the challenge head-on.
Liam Scales details ‘brilliant’ Borussia Dortmund plan
Per The Daily Record, Scales has laid out his plan to take in the ‘brilliant’ atmosphere for a minute before kick-off, recognising the significance of the occasion, before using that as inspiration to help his side pull off a shock against last year’s Champions League finalists.
He stated: “For me, you get a minute before the game when the anthem’s playing, you’re lining up and we’ll do the huddle, then you can take in the atmosphere.”
“It’s something I usually do, just to be calm going into the game, with a calm head. Just take a few deep breaths and then you’re ready. That would be something I’ve always done.
“Once the game starts, it doesn’t really affect you as much as you think because you’re so focused on what’s going on on the pitch.
“But I will take a minute while we’re lining up and coming out to take it all in because it’s obviously an amazing stadium and a great team.
“I was told it’s about 80,000 seats. That’s brilliant. That’ll probably be the biggest I’ll have played in. I’ll take it all in for that minute before the game. Then get down to business. I can’t wait.”
The Celtic centre-back question on everyone’s lips
Should Scales start in Dortmund, which is something you would expect, there are questions over who could partner the Irishman due to Cameron Carter-Vickers’ latest injury concern.
Auston Trusty partnered Scales in Celtic’s 6-0 triumph over St Johnstone last weekend, prompting Rodgers to deliver an update on Carter-Vickers’ status ahead of the trip to Signal Iduna Park.
He stated on whether Carter-Vickers would be flying to Germany: “I don’t know. I’ll know tomorrow. See where he’s at. And then we’ll go on Monday. And if he’s not available, then okay.
“Auston Trusty came in. I thought he was excellent tonight. You’ve seen his pace, you’ve seen his power. He’s playing off that right side, but he’s got a good balance in his game. And I thought he did very, very well. So if Cameron’s not available, then we have someone who can come straight in.”
Ideally, the United States international can recover from his foot problem in time and go straight into the starting line-up alongside Scales. However, there may be more to the situation. Carter-Vickers has been taking injections in recent weeks alongside being spotted in protective footwear.
On the face of it, Celtic stand a better chance of a result with their familiar centre-back partnership. Despite availability concerns, supporters will feel more confident in new addition Trusty after his clean sheet at St Johnstone last weekend.
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