Liam Scales: Celtic to return stronger next term after domestic treble bid fails

Liam Scales insists Celtic will return stronger next season after their Scottish Gas Scottish Cup final defeat to Aberdeen on penalties ended dreams of a domestic treble.

It looked like the Hoops would go on to complete a sixth clean sweep in nine years when they took the lead at Hampden Park on Saturday in the 39th minute through an Alfie Dorrington own goal.

However, that advantage was cancelled out in the 83rd minute by a blunder from Hoops keeper Kasper Schmeichel, and the Pittodrie side went on to win on penalties with keeper Dimitar Mitov saving from Celtic skipper Callum McGregor and Alistair Johnston to take the cup back to the Granite City for the first time in 35 years.

Defender Scales reflected on a league and League Cup double and a Champions League campaign which saw Celtic reach the knockout stages of the reformatted competition before being knocked out by German giants Bayern Munich and looked forward to next season.

The 26-year-old said: “We didn’t hit the heights we wanted to and then the longer it went on, it could have gone either way and that’s what happened with the penalties.

“But credit to Aberdeen, congratulations to them but we’ll be back stronger next season.

“We probably didn’t create as much as we wanted to, but we still had enough to win the game, but we didn’t take our chances.

“Both goals were a bit scrappy with a bit of luck.

“It is disappointing but we know now what we have to do next year. It’s not nice to see them lifting the cup.

“We are full of hunger and drive but when something like that happens it sort of kicks you up the backside and so I am looking forward to getting in next season and going again.

“I think everyone needs a rest and just recover over the summer.

“The next few days will probably be tough, but we had a good season overall.

“We came so close to winning the treble, a penalty shoot-out.

“Our league campaign was brilliant, our Champions League campaign was brilliant and we won the League Cup so there is a lot of positives to take.

“We dominated in the league, we showed in the Champions League more so than in previous years, we improved a lot so we are going in the right direction.

“It is tough because the last game of the season ends on a sour note but we will have a few days to sort of feel sorry for ourselves, enjoy our summer then get back in for next season.”

It was an emotional afternoon for McGregor, who stepped up to take Celtic’s first penalty and saw it saved by Mitov.

The midfielder, who has won 24 major honours with Celtic, was in tears at the end and Scales believes that was a sign of the hunger and winning mentality of the former Scotland player, who described his penalty as “the worst moment I have ever had in football”.

The Republic of Ireland international said: “He leads by example and he puts his heart on the line every week.

“He plays every game like it’s his last and he was obviously disappointed he missed the penalty but we wouldn’t put any blame on him at all.

“He was brave enough to step up and take the first one.

“He’s a top player and it happens to everyone, it’s football and he’ll bounce back.

“That’s just the way he is, he is non-stop, he just wants to win all the time and the reaction you’ve seen, that’s why, he’s just top class.”