Scales vows dressing room support for grieving team-mate as Celtic look to put latest European disappointment behind them
Liam Scales insists there is more to life than football as he called on his Celtic team-mates to rally around Auston Trusty following the death of his father.
The centre-back missed Celtic’s 2-1 Europa League defeat to Celta Vigo on Thursday night following the family bereavement. He later paid a heartfelt tribute to his father on social media, describing him as his “role model” and the “world’s greatest dad”.
As Trusty comes to terms with the loss and navigates a difficult period in his personal life, fellow defender Scales has stressed that the USA international will have the full support of the dressing room when he returns.
“We haven't seen him, but I think when we do, we're going to get around him as it’s a horrible time for him,” Scales admitted. “It’s bigger than football. I know that’s hard to appreciate sometimes, but he needs to take as long as he needs to do what he has to do.
“Once he’s back, he’ll have the full support of all the boys because it’s tough for anyone to go through that. We need to rally around him and really help him through. We’re seen as footballers but we go through the same sort of things in life that our fans go through. It's obviously tough for him right now, but once he's back we will be there for him.”
Celta Vigo defeat ‘a difficult one to take’
Scales’ comments came against the backdrop of another frustrating European night for Celtic, who surrendered their advantage to the Spaniard's following Mika Baur’s well-taken opener. The result added another layer of disappointment to their increasingly concerning continental campaign, with Martin O’Neill’s side now needing to refocus on domestic matters in the short-term.
The immediate challenge is to ensure their European woes do not spill over into the league, with Hibs next up at Easter Road. Scales insisted Celtic must reset their mindset quickly and turn their full attention to Sunday’s trip to the capital.
“It was a difficult one to take,” he conceded. “I think you approach every game the same, mentality-wise. Obviously, we approach games differently, tactically and technically, but the mentality is always the same, that we're 100 per cent focused on what’s ahead of us.
“That’s what is so important because we can’t think beyond Hibs now. We can’t think about what’s happened previously. We just need to really flip that switch. Once you are in that routine, it's easy to maintain that sort of mindset.”
Scales challenges Celtic to maintain domestic dominance
While Celtic’s European form has attracted criticism, Scales believes their domestic displays offer grounds for optimism. The Premiership remains a priority, and he pointed to the importance of maintaining their position at the summit as they look to secure more silverware this season.
“We haven’t won in Europe. It’s not ideal, and we want to be better,” he said of their continental struggles. “But domestically in the league, we have generally been quite good and are performing well. We need to be maintaining that now because it's massive.”
Scales remains confident the squad can improve, but reckons greater consistency and a stronger collective understanding will be key to turning their performances around.
“It doesn’t matter who you’re playing against, you’re expected to win every single week,” he added. “That not the case at many clubs. So I think it does take players a little while to get used to that. But I think the new lads have been really good. It's just a case of getting everybody together at the same time and for things to click early.”
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