Celtic and Ireland defender Liam Scales has claimed that due to Celtic's experience of playing in hostile environments like Ibrox, they will be ready for the trip to Borussia Dortmund this week.
Celtic and Dortmund meet on matchday 2 of the Champions League this week, and the latter will have to silence Dortmund's "Yellow Wall" if they want to increase their chances of making it out of the league stage of the competition.
Scales, the Celtic star, admits the team is well-equipped to handle the special atmosphere inside Signal Iduna Park tomorrow.
“I think we’re well-equipped based on what we’ve played in at Celtic Park and even going to Ibrox; that can be hostile, so we’re quite ready for that.
“For me, you get a minute before the game when the anthems are playing, and you’re lining up to do the huddle. Then you can take in the atmosphere.
“But once the game starts, it doesn’t really affect you as much as you think because you’re so focused on what’s going on on the pitch.
GLASGOW, Scotland, September 18: Celtic's Liam Scales in action during a UEFA Champions League match between Celtic and SK Slovan Bratislava at Celtic Park on September 18, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images) )“I’ll take a minute while we’re lining up and coming out to take it all in because it’s obviously an amazing stadium and a great team, so I can’t wait. It’s something I usually do just to be calm going into the game.”
Celtic beat St. Johnstone 6-0 on Saturday, and it would be assumed that the Celtic players and fans would have one eye set upon the mouthwatering clash with Dortmund this coming Tuesday.
Scales admits that the aim of the game is to keep winning despite what's ahead of them and behind them.
“Obviously, Tuesday is massive for us, but we weren’t even thinking about that before this game (Saturday's 6-0 win over St. Johnstone). This was a big game for us as well.
“We want to keep winning games, putting teams away, and keeping clean sheets. For us, we’ve got everything to play in the league. It’s not that difficult to get up for these games.
“Even though the Dortmund fixture might look like a bigger one and it’s maybe a bigger stage, this is the bread and butter, and this is what we need to do well every week, so it’s massively important for us.”
The game kicks off at 8 PM tomorrow.
