Anthony Ralston says something he learned playing for Scotland will ‘help’ him at Celtic

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Now that the international break is over, the Celtic fans can look forward to the domestic action resuming against Hearts on Saturday afternoon.

With 15 Celtic players on international duty, the supporters have had plenty to keep their interest going over the last two weeks.

Many fans disdain the international break as nothing beats real football and watching Brendan Rodgers’ side in the green and white Hoops.

But for Anthony Ralston however, he reckons that what he learned on international duty with Scotland will help stand him in good stead for the season ahead with Celtic.

Ralston’s ‘great experience’ for Scotland

Ralston played in both of Scotland’s defeats against Poland and Portugal this week. Still, it was his performance against Cristiano Ronaldo’s side that the Celtic defender believes he can take confidence from.

Ralston told The Herald, “He’s a good player and I’ll learn from games like that, coming up against those types of opponents.

“I relish it and take it head-on. This is the level I want to play my football at.

“From a personal point of view, I respect that he’s a quality player. But on the pitch, I’ve got a job to do against a winger, one v one, and I felt I did fine.

“I’ll take confidence from that and use it going forward in my career. Games like that, against that quality, can only help me for Celtic and Scotland in the future.

“It’s a great experience for me to play against a player like Leao. I need to learn from it and use it both at Celtic and when I’m called upon for Scotland.”

Ralston’s importance to Celtic now

Anthony Ralston has always been a reliable Celtic player since his revival under Ange Postecoglou in 2021.

The Celtic fullback flourished under the Australian and despite losing his starting place to Josip Juranovic and then, eventually, Alistair Johnston, Ralston has never let that affect his performances.

With Johnston suffering a tight hamstring on international duty with Canada, Ralston may well find himself being thrown in against Hearts on Saturday.

So it seems that getting a full 90 minutes in Scotland’s last two fixtures as well as tussling with Leao could really benefit Celtic come this weekend.