Ahead of tomorrow afternoon’s Scottish Cup quarterfinal matchup at Celtic Park versus Livingston, Liam Scales addressed the media at Lennoxtown yesterday afternoon. The Irish defender discussed the Scottish Cup challenge, reflected on the previous weekend’s VAR controversy, and gave a heartfelt farewell to Liel Abada, who departed the team this week. Here is what was stated during Liam Scales’ press conference:
Liam Scales: “We’re excited about it. We’re excited because we know it’s a cup game and the competition is almost over. With any luck, we can perform well enough to get to the semi-final.
Liam Scales: Without a doubt. It’s the end of the season for business. We’ve been working hard all week to get our game ready for the weekend. We want to move on to the next round and we’re confident heading into it.
Is everything about starting again following last week’s setback?
100%, says Liam Scales. The outcome was unsatisfactory. It is evident that things did not turn out as planned and that some control was removed from us. Since the competition has changed, approaching it with an entirely new perspective is necessary.
Liam Scales: “They might be a little cautious, but maybe as well. They’ll make an effort to continue playing, which will have
to make an attempt to collapse. They will wish to continue as long as they are able.
You mentioned last week that certain things were removed from you. A penalty was given against your group. Do the players know exactly what a hand ball is?
Liam Scales: “Some may be. I’m not being serious. It caught me off guard. Particularly when seeing it again, nobody on the field even knew it had happened. It wasn’t even disclosed to Tomoki (Iwata) until halftime that it was against him. It could possibly have been used as leverage against Ali (Johnston). Although I’m not sure, it was unexpected. Football is that.
Is that a topic you discuss as defenders during training? Must you pay attention to what you’re doing with when you jump, our hands behind your back?
Liam Scales: “I use the arms behind the back technique when stopping shots or pressing an opponent because you know that if they shoot and the ball hits your hand or arm on the way to the goal, it’s a hand ball.” It’s physically challenging to jump without raising yourself up with your arms. Your limbs are pulled in different directions and respond differently when players make contact with one another. Sometimes it’s beyond your control, and when these things are on your mind, it can be quite difficult to defend that naturally. Nevertheless, we must move forward.
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