On Sunday, Celtic left-back Liam Scales grabbed his first goal for the club in just his fourth appearance off the bench against Dundee United.
Like several players, the Irishman who joined the club from Shamrock Rovers in the summer has found himself on the fringes of action for Ange Postecoglou.
It must be a tad frustrating for the likes of Scales, who have found opportunities hard to come by during a good run of form.
However, with his goal at the weekend, he showed that fringe players can still have an impact across the season as the Hoops continue to go through their busiest fixture schedule of the campaign.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Postecoglou revealed how he keeps players who haven’t had a lot of action this season motivated and ready to go when called upon.
“Look, Scalesy, he’s worked his backside off without a lot of rewards in terms of opportunities.
“And there’s a number in the squad like that and as I keep saying to them whether you’re playing or not, it’s what you’re doing on a daily basis that gets you ready for that.
“I can’t guarantee them when that opportunity is going to come but if they keep doing the right things, the opportunities will come.
“And he [Scales] did well today, not just with his goal, but just coming in having to deal with some pressure there.
“Like all the other young players we give them the opportunities, give them the platform to improve and then the rest up to them.”
Last season, it was clear to see within the group of players and management, there wasn’t much unity at all, given how poor a campaign it ended up being.
This year, we have seen a complete contrast with players ready to work their socks off for an opportunity under Postecoglou.
Thursday is a brilliant opportunity for some of those players to show what they can offer, with changes expected in the final, dead-rubber fixture in the Europa League against Real Betis.
