Liam Scales Celtic credentials were clear when he bossed Brazil as Stephen Kenny makes Brendan Rodgers contract plea

The list of Brazilian names still rolls off Stephen Kenny’s tongue. Douglas Luiz, who’s now at Aston Villa. Antony, who ended up at Manchester United. Emerson Royal from Spurs, Matheus Cunha at Wolves.

That’s who the Republic of Ireland’s Under-21 side were up against in the semi-final of the 2019 Toulon Tournament in France. But Kenny had a few star turns of his own. And one of them, who had stepped up from University College Dublin, is now a Champions League star with Celtic.

Kenny didn’t need games against the likes of Lazio, Feyenoord and Atletico Madrid in Europe’s top competition to convince him about Liam Scales’ ability. Or his performances against Rangers in two Old Firm derby victories. No, Kenny has always known how good the Hoops defender is. That’s why he handed Scales his first full cap for the Republic of Ireland in October against Greece at the Aviva Stadium. And just like at Celtic, the 25-year-old now looks like he’s going to take some shifting.

Kenny stepped down from his role as Ireland gaffer just a matter of weeks ago. But after giving Scales his international debut, he believes whoever his successor is will dish out many more call-ups.

Kenny is delighted to see the centre-back’s progression this term under Brendan Rodgers at Parkhead, where he has been a stand-out performer. But the Irish boss knew what he was capable of five years ago in Toulon up against some of those current Premier League superstars.

In an exclusive interview with MailSport , Kenny said: “When Liam was at UCD I was Under-21 manager and took Liam to the Toulon Tournament. He was part of an Irish team who were in a group with Mexico, the Olympic silver medalists, China, who were managed by Guus Hiddink, and Bahrain.

“We won