CAMERON CARTER-VICKERS reckons his defensive partner Liam Scales deserves massive credit for underlining his worth to Celtic this season.
The England-born USA international and the Republic of Ireland stopper have formed a formidable barrier in front of Kasper Schmeichel in a campaign that has yet to catch fire for the Hoops.
The disappointing Champions League exit to Kazakhstan’s Kairat Almaty cast a dark cloud over Parkhead and the unrest off the field over what is perceived to be a poor summer transfer window has hardly aided matters.
Performances have been frustratingly inconsistent and the side have fired five blanks already in a crusade where Brendan Rodgers’ team have been crying out for a marksman to get on the end of balls into the box and do the necessary.
ONE IN THE EYE…Cameron Carter-Vickers meets the media ahead of the champions’ Premiership encounter against Dundee at Dens Park tomorrow. Image: Celtic TV.
Daizen Maeda thumped in 33 goals last time out, but this term the Japanese speedster has notched a mere three strikes and the champions will be without his threat tomorrow when injury will keep him out of the Premiership game against Dundee at Dens Park.
It is hoped Kelechi Iheanacho, signed on a free on UEFA deadline day, will provide the answer as the season progresses.
At the centre of the rearguard, though, there appears to be a solid foundation between Carter-Vickers and Scales.
The double-act have contributed considerably to eight clean sheets in 13 outings while there have been changes in the full-back positions with Anthony Ralston and Colby Donovan stepping in for the injured Alistair Johnston in the No.2 slot while Kieran Tierney and on-loan Marcelo Saracchi have jousted on the opposite flank.
Reflecting on the displays of his partner, Carter-Vickers said: “Scalesy has done great. I think, especially a club of this size and with these demands, if you’re in the team consistently, you’re obviously doing a lot of things right.
ON THE BALL…Liam Scales is in control.
“He has been and he’s continuing to improve. I think he reads the game well.
“Having played so much beside together, we now understand each other’s games and can almost play without having to really communicate too much.
“He’s good on the ball, clean on the ball and a good passer.”
It looked as though Scales was in danger of dropping out of Rodgers’ plans when the gaffer paid £6million for Auston Trusty from Sheffield United last summer, but the Dublin-born performer responded in a determined fashion.
Carter-Vickers, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “Yeah, he does deserve credit. I think if you know Scalesy, he’s resilient and he’s got a good character to him.
“So that’s no surprise really to me. But it’s also football. Things change quickly and, for me, it changed positively.
IT TAKES TWO…Celtic’s commanding central defensive partnership of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales.
“As a team defensively, we’ve been pretty good. We conceded two goals to Motherwell and Braga, but apart from those games, we’ve been pretty consistent defensively.
“It’s something that not just the defenders in the back four, but the whole team are responsible for.”
Looking forward to a frantic seven games in 21 days starting on Tayside at midday tomorrow, the robust pivot added: “In general, you are always looking to improve.
“But I think at the moment we are more focused on our attacking play and trying to create more opportunities to score more goals.
“We’ve got a few new players in, and players in and out of the team, but as time has gone on, we’ve become a bit more cohesive and, hopefully, that will continue.”
