Defender says despite a “minor blip,” Celtic won’t give in to increasing pressure from Rangers.

Celtic will not buckle under the weight of Rangers’ championship challenge, according to LIAM Scales, who also forecasted that the Parkhead team can bounce back from their recent form setback and win the Premiership trophy come May.

When Scales and his teammates lost to Hearts at home last Saturday for the first time in ten years in the league, their own fans jeered them out of the stadium.

At the top of the table, Brendan Rodgers’ team is currently only two points clear of its city rivals, and Philippe Clement’s team still has a game to play.

The Irish center half is still optimistic, though, that Celtic can overcome their rough patch—they also suffered a defeat at Rugby Park earlier this month—and have a great 2023–24 season.

Tomorrow, he hopes to put up a much better show and defeat Livingston, who are now in last position, in Glasgow’s East End.

He declared, “It’s definitely not a complete disaster.” “The fact that we have lost two games does not imply the league is finished.

“It’s not good at all, I assure you. However, in other years, the same thing has occurred, and we have succeeded in winning it.

“Winning the league is basically what we are here to achieve. We are aware that it is still possible and not a catastrophic event. It’s only a small bump in the season.

“Ideally, there shouldn’t be any blips at all, but if there are, we have plenty of games and time to correct them.

“We’re not going away entirely; we’re going to recover. Despite a few disappointing outcomes, we are aware that we can control the situation if we win our games. Really, that is all there is to it. We’re not going to give up right now.

Scales, whose contract with Celtic expires at the conclusion of the next campaign, has made it clear that he is not bothered that talks to extend it have not yet begun.

Last month, the Republic of Ireland international acknowledged that he would be want to stay at Parkhead longer, and boss Rodgers said he hoped to retain the defender beyond 2025.

“There haven’t been any conversations,” he declared. “I’m just concentrating on the football right now. My agent will handle it, and he will notify me upon making contact.

“I’m not concerned about it.” I’ll ignore it and carry on with my football game. First and foremost is the team. My only goal is to help the team win games. Everyone agrees that winning will benefit the team’s performance on an individual basis, but the team comes first.