Opinion: Numbers point to ongoing run in team for Celtic summer signing

When Liam Scales joined Celtic in the summer transfer window from Shamrock Rovers, it was likely presumed that the former Shamrock Rovers man would be a squad player, who only featured sometimes for the Hoops, like if the side were having injury issues.

That is no slight on the player, it just seemed realistic when you consider that the Hoops have Greg Taylor and Josip Juranovic who can also play left-back.

However, that has not been the case, and the statistics show that Scales seems to be a favourite of manager Ange Postecoglou, and the 23-year-old could be set for a run of games in the Hoops first-team.

Scales has started in five of Celtic’s last seven games in all competitions, including games in the Europa League and Scottish Cup.

Indeed, Scales played a key role in the Hoops’ win over Alloa in the Scottish Cup, as he provided a fine assist for Georgios Giakoumakis to give the Bhoys the lead in the game.

He seems to do relatively well when it comes to going forward for the Hoops, as he already has one assist and one goal this season in 10 appearances for Celtic.

Does the recent spate of appearances mean that Scales is going to start every game for the Hoops? That seems unlikely, especially as Greg Taylor seems to be a favourite of the Celtic manager. But it does look as if the player will be involved in the Hoops first-team for the foreseeable future.

Scales as played at left-back for Celtic, but he has experience of playing at centre-back for Shamrock Rovers. It will be interesting to see if he is ever used in that position for Celtic. Perhaps the only time would be if the side were having real injury issues, as so far Postecoglou seems to view Scales as a left-back only.

Scales can be pleased with how well his