Celtic's form has been hot and cold over the last few months, with the club's inconsistencies often being referred to on A Celtic State of Mind as 'Jekyll and Hyde like'.
There have been plenty of problems with performances that supporters have been pointing out. There is a lack of leadership in the team, and that is made glaringly obvious in games when the going begins to get tough and the opposition begins to press the Celtic team a little bit more.
Another problem is the amount of missed chances in this Celtic team. Not remaining clinical and composed in the final third is always going to be costly, and there have been far too many games this season where Celtic have dominated one half but failed to capitalise on numerous chances and then it comes back to bite them dearly in the second-half.
However, arguably the main issue with this Celtic team over the last few weeks has been defensive frailties. It is far too easy to break this Celtic team down at the moment, with it only taking a simple ball over the top for even the most limited of cinch Premiership attacks to completely unlock this Celtic defence.
The constant injury problems that Cameron Carter-Vickers has been facing this season hasn't helped the team one bit, but the players on the park haven't been rising to the occasion in his absence.
A lot of fan fury has been directed Liam Scales' way. He has been struggling over the last few weeks, evidenced by the fact that Celtic have only kept two clean sheets since the return from the winter break at the end of January, but given how rapid his resurgence was at the start of this season, how has his performance levels begun to drop so swiftly in recent weeks.
Physical Attackers Causing Problems
One of the main reason's Liam Scales has been struggling in the last few fixtures has been that physical attackers have been causing him plentiful problems.
Liam Scales isn't exactly a weak defender, but the likes of Theo Bair, Lawrence Shankland and most recently Teden Yengi have been getting the better of him.
Whether that be bullying him off of the ball or beating him with a run in behind, Scales hasn't been able to contain them in the same way that he was in the early season.
Passing Lacking The Same Endeavour
One of the key aspects of Scales' game when he returned to the fold at the start of the season was his passing. He was looking to unlock defences with some adventurous long passing and it was effective for Celtic in breaking down rigid and organised defences.
However, in the last few weeks, his passing has been lacking that same zip and endeavour to it. The constant directionless sideways passing is always going to lead to groans and frustration from those on the terraces, and whether it is a lack of confidence in himself or a specific instruction from the manager, it is something that he could do with changing in the next few matches.
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