It’s the time of year not many Celtic supporters like, as the final international break of the season has hit everybody’s screens.
Brendan Rodgers’ side didn’t exactly enter this two-week break on a high because Celtic suffered a defeat to Rangers on home soil.
Only for the third time during Rodgers’ tenure at Celtic Park has he fallen down this slide, so in that sense, this break has probably come at the right time because it allows everyone to pick themselves up.
The Celtic manager will have a key eye on the goings-on across the international scene because he has a fair few players floating around across the world.
From Asia to North America and back to Europe, some compete in friendly matches, others compete in World Cup qualifiers, and then there are some players playing in the UEFA Nations League.
One Celtic man, who has had to watch from the bench for large parts of this season, has earned himself some much-needed minutes on the national stage and impressed.
Anthony Ralston lauded for his Scotland display despite lack of minutes for Celtic
It’s difficult as it is for Anthony Ralston to walk into such a pressure cooker of a game for Scotland – their first-leg UEFA Nations playoff match against Greece – because he has hardly played this season.
Only 18 appearances in all competitions for Celtic, but he held his own against the Greeks and earned his side a much-needed clean sheet.
Scott McTominay did the job going forward by scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, but praise from Ralston came from a pundit from the other side.
Ex-Rangers man Craig Moore gave Ralston his flowers and explained how he produced a ‘really, really solid’ display, as he told Go Radio.
“The thing with Ralston is that we know the type of player he is,” said Moore. “He gives it absolutely everything.
“He is a real competitor. He has the ability to kind of get up and down the full right-hand flank. When you aren’t playing games domestically week in and week out, then you can have that edge knocked off you a little bit.
“But I tell you what. A really, really solid performance. He is very reliable in that right fullback position.”
Ralston’s stats for Scotland against Greece
You presume that Alistair Johnston will remain Celtic’s starting right-back, although, his performance against Rangers last time out didn’t do him any favours.
Either way, Ralston can only do his talking when he is on the field of play, whether that’s in the colours of his country or Celtic.
And he has done himself no harm because WhoScored provided the Celtic star with a very strong rating of 7.94.
| Total tackles | Interceptions | Clearances | Blocked shots | Aerials won | Dribbles | Touches | Rating |
| 2 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 50 | 7.94 |
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