ALL HE'S CRAICED UP TO BE

Scales reveals how dressing room will miss O'Neill's humour & how he inspires confidence with his own special brand of leadership skills

- BY GORDON PARKS

LIAM SCALES admits it'll be the laughter and a back to basics approach which will linger longest when Martin O'Neill leaves Celtic for a second time.

The Hoops defender delivered a tribute to the stand-in boss who he believes was the perfect man to rise to the moment amidst the chaos and shock around Brendan Rodgers' departure last month.

Thursday night's Europa League fightback against Feye-noord was another feather in the cap of the 71-year-old’s month spell as interim boss which will come to an end at Easter Road tomorrow when Wilfried Nancy is expected to arrive 24 hours later.

But Scales is adamant O'Neill's enhanced an already silver-tinted legacy by steering the club though turmoil and uncertainty with his trademark humour, tactical nous and stripping the game back to it’s simplest form.

He said: “A lot of it with the manager has been about trying to bring a bit of confidence into the squad. I think it’s clear to see he’s done that.

“In everything he says and does, he’s clear that we're top players and we can all play for this club and do well for this club and win games in Europe and win games in the league.

“I think just his ability to instil confidence in the team. How he speaks and how he comes across has been really impressive. I think that will definitely help. Sometimes going back to basics is the best thing you can do.

For me as a defender, playing under him, he’s fully focused on defenders defending first.