Tony arrives at his final destination
Ralston targets silver after years of watching from sidelines
I’ve come here for finals as either a fan or as part of the squad ANTHONY RALSTON ON HIS HAMPDEN EXPERIENCE
ANTHONY RALSTON has been around plenty of cup finals as a Celtic player.
So far, though, he has yet to play in one. But Ralston is finally now poised for a key part in a showpiece with his team gearing up for a Premier Sports Cup Final next month. The full-back has been a Celtic firstteam player for six years. He’s been on the books of the club as they have regularly swept in and out of Hampden on their way to a quadruple Treble. However, with loan spells at Queen’s Park, St Johnstone and Dundee United during that period, he has not tasted the action. Having nailed down a spot in Ange Postecoglou’s set-up, however, that’s surely about to change on December 19 when the Aussie aims to win his first trophy as Hoops boss. Ralston will take nothing for granted but is eager for a chance to get out there having been around in the past and said: “For sure. That will be my aim. “I will get back into training and focus on the games coming up first and foremost. When the time comes, I will be ready for the final as well. “I have been in and around the squad. I have come here for finals as either a fan or as part of the squad. “It is something that I personally look forward to now I am playing and something we are all looking forward to as a club.” For Ralston, the semi-final victory was just another notch on his belt in the midst of an astounding individual spell. Having won the trust of Postecoglou and delivered a string of outstanding performances which have kept Croatian international Josip Juranovic pinned to the opposite flank, the full back was rewarded with a new contract at the beginning of this month. From there, Ralston received a first call-up into the senior Scotland squad and made his debut in the World Cup win over Denmark seven days ago. Now the opportunity of an appearance in a showpiece occasion looms having helped his club into the trophy decider. Ralston said: “It has been a great time for me in my life and for my family as well. I am loving every minute of it. “To get my Scotland cap was another dream I have managed to achieve. I am just looking to keep working hard, keep myself right, keep playing these games and do the best I can for the team. “When you are in the game it is about focusing. “I just concentrate on doing the business when I am out on the park. But I can watch it back and take it in that way. I will find time to do it.” When the time comes to
watch the weekend semi-final back, it will tell a story of a hard-fought grind for the Parkhead team and a victory for patience.
Postecoglou’s team were kept in check by the organisation of Callum Davidson’s team for a long time at the national stadium.
Ralston says staying calm under the pressure of the situation was a key component in Celtic’s success.
He said: “It is not always going to be pretty, especially when other teams are going to set up defensively.
“We need to find a way to break them down and it is not always going to be as free-flowing as we’d like it to be.
“That is when we need to show our character. To a man, we all did that on Saturday night.
“For sure, it is about staying calm in these games because it can get very heated, especially when you don’t score early on and it is getting near the end.
“They were looking to counter us and we were aware of that. We stayed disciplined in our shape, got our goal and then we managed the game from there. I am delighted we were able to do that.”
While Ralston savoured the success, he also had kind words for Saints. His career is linked to them having made a Celtic debut in Perth in 2016.
The full-back also enjoyed a spell at McDiarmid Park when he was loaned out and was amongst those who congratulated the Perth team during their run to win both of the domestic cup competitions last season.
Ralston had genuine concern for ex-team-mate David Wotherspoon as he suffered an injury scare at Hampden during the second period and said: “I was worried. He is a great guy. You don’t like to see any sportsman or ex-team-mate get an injury.
“Hopefully it is not a bad one. I will check up on him and see. I hope he is well and healthy. It was good to see him walk off. Hopefully it is nothing too serious.
“I spent a season at St Johnstone a few seasons back. They are a great group of lads. I have stayed in contact with some of them. For 90 minutes you forget about that but they were good to me. “I got my game time and experience of playing.”