I said to him you just never know- Rodgers on his surprise of the season

Brendan Rodgers has dropped a heavy hint that Liam Scales is now a first pick in the centre of the Celtic defence.

When the hoops won at Ibrox in September the former Shamrock Rovers man and Gus Lagerbielke were the only two central defenders available to the returning boss.

Loan signing Nat Phillips has yet to play a full 90 minutes but Cameron Carter-Vickers played in the two matches prior to the October international break with Maik Nawrocki resuming full training over the last week.

Scales partnered Lagerbielke against Feyenoord and Phillips in the home match against Lazio, between the lines in a Brendan Rodgers interview reported by the Daily Record it seems that Scales will start against Atletico Madrid as Celtic chase their first points in the group.

Discussing his progress since the start of the season the Celtic boss said:

It’s just I hadn’t seen a lot of Liam. I didn’t see a lot of him at Aberdeen but probably the feeling was for him and around the club that he wanted to go and play and continue playing.

Over the course of pre-season, he had played, but maybe with one eye on thinking he was leaving but I said to him you just never know. Just stay, work hard, stay focused. It’s not so much in Scotland because he’s played in Scotland in a really good club in Aberdeen, so has shown that he can play.

The big surprise for me was when he stepped up to the Champions League level. He looked accomplished and did very, very well.

In a matter of weeks he has gone from a player who has established himself in the team, – and he knows he needs to keep that consistent level – but he’s gone from thinking he’s maybe leaving to playing regularly in the team, to playing in the Champions League and making his international debut.

That’s how football can work for you if you stay focused, work hard and stay concentrated and I’m delighted for him. Consistency is the name of the game for him.

Celtic resume domestic action on Sunday away to Hearts with Scales returning to the squad with two international caps after playing against Greece and Gibraltar.