"A different player"; Craig Levein stunned by the job Ange has done with Celtic star

By John McGinley

November 12, 2021

Craig Levein has called for Celtic star Anthony Ralston to be called up to the Scotland national team following Nathan Patterson’s suspension.

Patterson picked up a yellow card against Moldova this evening and is unable to face Denmark on Monday night.

Although Scotland have already qualified for the World Cup playoffs, the fixture at Hampden could be crucial in determining seedings for that process.

So his suspension has left Steve Clarke with a big decision to make. Stephen O’Donnell is currently the only recognised right-back in the squad and Ralston has been far better than him so far this season.

Asked on BBC Radio Scotland tonight [19:15] if Ralston should be called up, former Scotland boss Levein said: “Absolutely. I think he’s had such a wonderful season.

“He’s been around the Celtic first-team for a period of time, he’s been out on loan, and it looked like he wouldn’t actually make it at Celtic and maybe he’d have to move elsewhere.

“All credit to Ange Postecoglou because he looks a different player. His involvement in chances and goals is quite remarkable.

“He’s another one who has athleticism, he’s a strong boy, he’s powerful, he’s shown really good quality this season. I don’t see why, with Patterson out, Steve couldn’t call him up to the squad.”

It will certainly be interesting to see how that pans out over the coming days. Clarke will have known Patterson was on a yellow card and could have been suspended for the upcoming fixture. So presumably he has a contingency plan in place.

That should undoubtedly be Ralston, if so. In fact, I’d go so far to say Ralston should be starting the fixture. However, that seems unlikely given Clarke’s fondness for the Motherwell defender.

In other news, John Hartson is excited about the “almost forgotten” Celtic player set to be used by Ange.