Liam Scales has given an insight into Martin O’Neill’s return, returning to basics, and winning again. His comments tell a story of a squad that needed confidence instilled back into them, and quickly.
The defender was open about struggling to adapt under Wilfried Nancy’s 33-day stint in charge. The stark contrast between the mood around the club then and now is clear to see, which is why he’s expressed his delight at O’Neill’s return.
The 73-year-old marked his return with a convincing win over Dundee Utd, securing the club’s first clean sheet since his previous game four weeks prior. This points to him and his coaching staff stripping things back and not overloading the squad with too much information, reminding them that they are winners.
That win was followed up by a narrow 1-0 victory at Falkirk. It was less flattering, but a win and a clean sheet on the road was something not seen in weeks.
Scales has spoken openly about O’Neill coming back in to steer the ship, with his comments seeming like a sigh of relief due to a structured approach being reintroduced.
He said (The Herald):
“I think we feel confident under him. Even though performances haven’t all been at our top level, we’ve managed to pull through games and get results and keep clean sheets. I suppose that’s been the main thing that’s got us those seven wins.
“I think him and the coaching staff, that is probably what they felt they needed to bring in the first time around [defensive solidity]. We went through a couple of bad results, they came in and they knew we had the ability and the players here to win games.
“It was just about getting confidence. It’s almost like a carbon copy of coming back in and needing to lift us. It’s just the way they approach training, they fill you with confidence every day. The way they speak to you, it’s really helped a lot.”
The centre-half then turned to O’Neill’s man-management, bringing a mixture of humour and seriousness to garner results:
“I think all of the lads do have a good relationship with him. It’s funny, he’ll say a good thing about you and then follow it up with a bad thing. You take it in good spirits. I suppose there’s the Irish connection there as well. I think as a centre-half, if you defend well and defend first before anything else, I think that is really what he wants. I suppose you know what you have to do to keep him happy, which is a good thing.
“He’s got a brilliant team around him, like Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham, Stephen McManus and Gavin Strachan.
“You want to start how they sort of left, you wanted to get back to winning ways.”
The 27-year-old joins teammates Kieran Tierney, Arne Engels and Callum McGregor as those who have publicly praised O’Neill’s return, with the captain even saying the team have ‘picked up where they left off’.
Scales’ comments bring into focus the importance of man-management and what that can do for a player’s confidence. Modern football is so often overly analytical, where instructions can lose meaning should a manager fail to consider how a player takes that information on board.
Tactics, of course, are crucial. Shaun Maloney deals with the coaching side of things, but having that ‘old-school’ figure like O’Neill has clearly had a positive effect on the squad.
The performance at Falkirk was far from perfect; O’Neill and the players know that. But the more wins this team tick off, the more confidence they’ll have during this fight for the title. If new signings are made during this window, then there is a real platform to build on for the months ahead.
Keep Reading
