Heading into the clash with Rangers at the start of the month with no less than three injured centre halves many of us feared the worst.

Cameron Carter-Vickers, Stephen Welsh and new Bhoy Maik Nawrocki were all on the treatment table with Yuki Kobayashi only able to make the bench at Ibrox on the day.

History tells us that we were worrying about nothing however as a solitary Kyogo strike on the stroke of half time ensured that Celtic left the southside with all three points following a solid and measured performance.

Brendan Rodgers asked his players to be brave on the day and the manager got the response he was looking for, with several standout performances in green and white.

Skipper Callum McGregor led the way, and was followed closely by team-mates Joe Hart, Matt O’Riley and goalscorer Kyogo.

The Man of The Match award on the day however went to the unlikeliest of candidates.

A player who already had one foot out the door with a return to the north east to re-join Aberdeen looking more than likely.

Step forward, Liam Scales!

If the Irishman’s inclusion on team sheet didn’t give you cause for concern on the morning of 3^rd September then you’re in the minority, but on a day when we were looking for players to step up to the plate Scales was at the front of the queue.

So how could Brendan Rodgers possibly drop the 25 year old for the visit of Dundee?

THE BIGGER PICTURE

With the aforementioned centre halves remaining injured Rodgers has four options available to him for the clash with the Dens Park side.

The Ibrox pairing of Scales and Gustaf Lagerbielke, plus new signing Nat Phillips and Yuki Kobayashi.

His decision is made even easier by the fact that Kobayashi simply won’t start this game and already looks like he may be on his way out of the club having failed to make an impact since his January arrival.

So this leaves Scales, Lagerbielke and Phillips – and three into two doesn’t go.

As it stands only one of these players has a long term future at the club – on paper at least – and that’s why Lagerbielke must be given further gametime to get up to speed with life at Celtic.

He’ll be better for the experience of winning at a hostile Ibrox but there’s no denying he had some shaky moments on the day.

A home fixture against Dundee however – in what would still be just his 4^th appearance for the club – will help the Swedish international bed in ahead of some crucial fixtures in the weeks ahead.

Which brings us to the very reason that Phillips, and NOT Scales should line up alongside him on Saturday.

EYES ON EUROPE

Tuesday night sees us travel to Rotterdam where we’ll face Dutch Champions Feyenoord in Matchday 1 of this season’s Champions League and there’s no doubt the manager will have half an eye on this one when making his selections for Dundee.

So whilst Scales may well be the defender in form, it’s the experience of Liverpool loanee Phillips which should see him get the nod on Saturday.

By no means a regular on Merseyside the stopper comes with a solid a reputation however having deputised for ex-Celt Virgil Van Dijk  during the 2020/21 season – a season where he also experienced Champions League football – and has become a valued member of Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

Whilst he’s yet to pull on the Hoops, tomorrow’s fixture presents the perfect opportunity to get some much needed minutes under his belt.

Any new signing is a gamble but with every respect to Scales the gamble on Phillips must be viewed as one worth taking should we be looking to get anything from Tuesday night’s game.

Whether Rodgers agrees or not remains to be seen but his lineup should give an indication of his intentions ahead of Tuesday night.

Firstly of course, let’s be sure to consolidate that win at Ibrox with all three points against Dundee.

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