AUSTON TRUSTY has sampled just 10 minutes of Champions League football in his entire career.
But Liam Scales reckons the Euro rookie will be able to handle the pressure if he gets the nod to face Borussia Dortmund in the Westfalenstadion tomorrow night.
It looks almost certain Cameron Carter-Vickers will miss the crucial encounter against the Bundesliga giants with the foot injury hat kept him out of the 6-0 win over St Johnstone in Perth at the weekend.
Trusty took his bow in Europe’s elite tournament when he replaced his fellow-USA international late in the game as Brendan Rodgers’ men ran amok against Slovan Bratislava with a convincing 5-1 triumph at a rocking Parkhead almost two weeks ago.
EURO DEBUT JOY…Auston Trusty joins in the goal celebrations after Adam Idah’s strike for No.5 in the 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava at Parkhead.
Now the 26-year-old defender, who cost £6million from Sheffield United when he arrived on deadline day, is standing by to face the German club in their 81,000 capacity stadium – and Scales reckons his sidekick won’t be intimidated.
The Republic of Ireland star said: “Auston was brilliant against St Johnstone and didn’t look out of place at all.
“We’re two lefties and he got the short straw playing on the right!
“But he was so solid on the ground and in the air. He was really, really good.
“He’s a top player and I think, whoever it is, we’re ready as we’ve had a chance to play beside each other now.
“I’ve no preference because we have so many good players in each position that we can deal with injuries here and there.
“Cam’s a massive player for us, but I keep saying that strength and depth is massive. There is real competition for places.
“No-one’s place is secure in the team at the moment because of how good the next player is to come in.
“Even when we rotate I don’t think it weakens us. It’s just a really good place to be.”
HEADS I WIN…Liam Scales powers in the opening goal in the 5-1 victory over Slovan Bratislava.
The Hoops had three stars red-carded in last season’s European adventure with Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Holm both dismissed in the 2-0 loss against Feyenoord in Rotterdam in the first outing.
Daizen Maeda was banished against Atletico Madrid in the Spanish capital and the Parkhead outfit, playing for over an hour with only 10 men, succumbed to a hefty six-goal reverse.
Scales, speaking to the Scottish Sun, continued: “The manager spoke about it before the first game against Slovan Bratislava because it killed us in two fixtures last season, getting men sent off.
“You’ve seen the ref against Bratislava and in every other Champions League game.
“You can’t really make a foul without picking up the yellow card.
“We just need to be careful, but still be intense in our defending. It’s just something we need to look out for.”
The 26-year-old Dubliner is in confident mode and added: “I believe we can go there and win it.
“We just need to go and play the way we’ve been playing and see where that takes us.
“Obviously, they’ve got a top, top side and in the Champions League we know it’s going to be difficult.
“But we just need to go over there with a bit of confidence that if we play our game we can win.
“If we play the way we’ve been playing in the league, it will give us our best chance of getting a result and that’s what we plan to do.
“We’re playing good football, we’re winning games, we’re keeping clean sheets.
“That’s given us the most confidence that we can possibly have going into a game like this.”
