Celtic: Liam Scales urges players to 'brush up' after Rodgers criticism

Liam Scales believes Celtic's back-to-back defeats are just a 'blip'; their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership has been cut to two points and second-place Rangers have a game in hand

Thursday 21 December 2023 17:32, UK

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Celtic defender Liam Scales admits it hurt to hear manager Brendan Rodgers claim he was unsurprised by their poor performance in the defeat by Hearts.

The Irishman believes he and his team-mates will be stung into action by Rodgers' assessment when they host Livingston on Saturday.

It was a first domestic defeat at Celtic Park for almost three years but a second consecutive loss in the cinch Premiership — the first time the champions have lost back-to-back league games in more than a decade.

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Celtic had already drawn at home to St Johnstone and Motherwell this season and Rodgers had revealed he was the angriest he had ever been as a manager when his side trailed in Perth weeks earlier.

Scales was among a small group of players Rodgers absolved of blame following Celtic's 2-0 defeat by Hearts but he believes the assessment will spark them out of complacency.

Scales said: «I can see where he's coming from. It's not nice to hear but obviously performances haven't been where they should probably be. He makes a good point.

»It does hurt as a player to hear that. We need to change that and not let that be the case again.

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