Celtic man Anthony Ralston has enjoyed some time in Scotland’s starting line-up during the international break despite coming on mainly from the bench at club level this term.
The 25-year-old has made six appearances for the Bhoys this campaign, with one start falling against Falkirk in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final.
However, Scotland’s right-back injury crisis has fallen into Anthony Ralston’s lap, and he has been able to make inroads in cementing a starting slot for the Tartan Army.
Playing every game at EURO 2024, the Celtic man has continued from the beginning in every one of their Nations League fixtures so far under Steve Clarke.
With a solitary assist against Poland earlier in the campaign illustrating his capacity to bomb forward, Ralston also turned in a solid display against Croatia last weekend as the Scots fell to a narrow defeat in Zagreb.
Despite having his detractors, Marvin Bartley has sent a firm message regarding his credentials on the international stage.
Marvin Bartley jumps to the defence of Anthony Ralston
Discussing Scotland’s patchy recent run of form, Bartley believes that Ralston sometimes shoulders an inappropriate share of the blame when pulling on the national team jersey.
He explained [Clyde 1 Superscoreboard]: “I don’t even think it takes a bad game for Ralston at times for him to get the blame, if I’m honest, with some of the stuff you do read.
“That wasn’t the issue; there have been injuries, everybody knows that. Loads of big players, Tierney, McGinn for example, but it gives someone else the opportunity to go in and play.”
Ralston does get it in the neck from some quarters for whatever reason while playing with Scotland, but he is always ready to step in with a level of commitment that is second-to-none, exemplifying the approach every professional should take while honing their craft.
Anthony Ralston’s chances of a Celtic breakthrough
At the tail end of last season, Brendan Rodgers indicated Ralston would play more for Celtic this term and talked up his readiness to step in when called upon.
He stated: “He will feature more for me next season. Part of this season was that Ali (Johnston) was the first choice. Tony came in and played some games. Ali had been out for a while so when he came back from injury I needed to get him games to get him up to speed. That meant that Tony hadn’t played so much.
“But there are a few things with Tony. One, I know he is always ready because if he is not playing in games, his training is the game. So he trains every day, and his standard, quality, and mentality are like that of a game.”
While his appearances for Celtic remain drip-fed for now, the hefty fixture schedule on the horizon for the Bhoys is likely to help Ralston’s pursuit of regular game-time. Hopefully, he can seize his chance when it comes.
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