Anthony Ralston was in front of the media on Friday ahead of Celtic’s match against Motherwell this weekend.
The Hoops are playing in the Saturday lunchtime kick-off at Fir Park, knowing that victory will move us five points clear of second-placed St. Mirren.
Motherwell, themselves, have had a strong start to their Premiership campaign, and currently sit fourth with ten points from their first six matches.
Ralston may not be likely to start in the match with Alistair Johnston viewed as our number one right-back. Yet, he was still the obvious choice for the media outing after he agreed a Celtic contract extension earlier in the week.
It proved to be a rather intimate and low-key press conference though, with only one outlet asking questions to the Scotland cap. The reporter in question was from the Press Association, and quizzed Ralston on a number of issues including the impact his daughter has had on his life, his role at Celtic, Brendan Rodgers and more.
“Unfortunately, aye”, he said when asked if he feels he’s one of the more senior players at Celtic these days.
“I’m only turning 25 in November,” he continued while smiling. “But for sure, it’s adapting. I’m not a kid anymore. So when there are newer boys coming into the team, it’s trying to help them as much as possible.
“Especially if they’re coming from different backgrounds, different countries, it’s the likes of myself or players who have been here for a long time to help them settle in as best as possible.
“It’s a different time now for me. After signing the contract, I’m going to be here until I’m slightly older again. It’s just about adapting in my career to that experience level where I can help younger boys. I’ve been there myself.” (Celtic YouTube)
Ralston’s knowledge and understanding of the club is probably the kind of thing many supporters would play down. But it’s important for Celtic to have players who bring that homegrown identity.
Rodgers spoke about that after Ralston’s new deal was announced. While the 24-year-old may not feature too often as our first-choice right-back, he will still have a very important part to play.
Ralston sounds and seems like he’s been around forever. It’s sometimes easy to forget that he is still a relatively young player. Like so many of his Celtic team-mates, there is far more to come from him.
In other news, Malky Mackay calls for VAR talks featuring Celtic after midweek controversy
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