The Irishman knows the Hoops must regain some pride on the continental stage after a bad start at home to Ferencvaros
Celtic defender Liam Scales(Image: SNS Group)
Liam Scales insists Celtic have a point to prove in Europe – starting with the daunting trip to Benfica.
The Hoops head to Lisbon on Thursday desperate to restore some pride after a damaging start to their continental campaign. The scars of their shocking Champions League play-off collapse against LASK are still fresh, while a dismal 3-1 home defeat to Ferencvaros has already left them with work to do in the Europa League.
Celtic scraped into the knockout stages in 21st place last term, only to crash out at the first hurdle. Now Scales knows the Parkhead side must raise their game if they are to finally make their mark in Europe’s second tier.
The defender hopes Martin O’Neill’s men can draw inspiration from last season’s impressive away victories over Feyenoord and Stuttgart as they look to pull off another memorable result in Portugal.
He said: “Definitely. Listen, it doesn’t get much more difficult in the Europa League than this next one. Benfica away is a tough, tough game. I think we always have something to prove but it has been disappointing so far in Europe this season so we need to really try and do better.
“But we went to Feyenoord last season and showed that night what we can do so we can try and replicate how we played in that game. When it comes to European fixtures that is a reference for us. That was really, really good that night so that’s what we will be hoping to do.”
Celtic travel to the Stadium of Light with renewed belief after ending a three-game losing streak with a convincing 2-0 victory over Motherwell. The international break gave the Scottish champions three weeks to stew over a horror run of results. And Scales believes the extended pause in action may have arrived at just the right time.
He said: “Maybe in hindsight, yes. But at the time I felt it came at a bad time because we went into two weeks off after coming off the back of bad results. But it has given people some respite. People got some time off to go and rest and recover so it has given us a bit of energy. At the time I just didn’t think it was the best.”
Celtic fans have made their anger clear during a frustrating start to the campaign, with performances and results falling short of expectations.
Scales accepts the Premiership leaders have failed to meet their own standards but hopes Sunday’s victory in North Lanarkshire can provide the springboard for a revival.
The Irishman added: “I don’t think we’ve been hurt by the criticism. What’s hurt has been the results. That’s what hurts more than anything. We know ourselves and don’t need to even hear the criticism to feel the disappointment and hurt. We already feel that.
“But I felt the international window gave us a chance to refresh and the kids have come back with more confidence. We saw that on Sunday, it looked good and felt good. And hopefully we can continue that.”