THE HIGHLANDER WHO’S RALLYING SCOTLAND’S CELTIC CONTINGENT
Highlander Christie claims he’s the ‘most Scottish’ of the Parkhead contingent!
THE MOST patriotic Scot in a squad beset by call-offs and absenteeism? There can be only one. A Highlander, of course.
Ryan Christie laughs as he reveals details of an ongoing ‘I’m more Scottish than you’ debate raging in Celtic’s dressing room.
The wearing of the kilt is the specific point of argument, with Inverness-born Christie — a traditionalist — currently finding himself outnumbered by Lowlander team-mates.
If the midfielder’s pride in pulling on the blue jersey helps him carry his brilliant club form onto the international stage tomorrow night, of course, he might find that even the ‘Weegies’ cede some ground on this front.
Christie is just one part of a significant Parkhead contingent in Alex McLeish’s squad for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Albania and Israel.
The 23-year-old is hardly short of friendly faces as he seeks to add to his three senior caps. Given the amount of down time enforced upon footballers during an international week, it’s entirely possible James Forrest, Kieran Tierney and Callum McGregor will resume efforts to browbeat their favourite Teuchter into sartorial submission.
‘I had an argument with the boys — I said I was more patriotic than they were,’ explained Christie.
‘It all started with a debate about weddings. They said they would wear a suit for their wedding and I thought it was normal to wear a kilt.
‘I’m in the right, am I not? I was getting stick for it. Of course I will wear a kilt to my wedding — any opportunity.
‘KT (Tierney), Jamesie (Forrest) and Cal (McGregor) were all there. It got to the point where I was pulling others in from outside to try and get more on my side.
‘But most of them said they would plump for a suit as well! I’m not sure I won the vote — but I still know I’m right!’
Without touching on the delicate question of whether Christie goes ‘full Scot’ when donning traditional garb, it is clear the star of Celtic’s recent run takes huge pride in his country.
Hailing from a part of the nation where elite club football was slow to develop, the former Inverness man grew up in an environment where supporting the national team meant more than any local rivalry.
‘For any big Scotland games, my family would make a party of it and we had loads of folk round at the house to watch,’ he said. There’s a big Scotland following from the north.
‘I could see that for real when I was called up because of the number of calls and messages I received. It’s nice to get that and makes me proud.
‘Hopefully I can go away and make an impact.
‘My earliest memory? I remember the James McFadden goal in France and Gary Caldwell’s goal against them at Hampden.
‘Basically, we always had a houseful and a good laugh, sitting down watching football on TV. I identified with the national team from a young age.
‘Unfortunately, my memories of watching Scotland always end with disappointment after the qualifiers.
‘The aim for everyone in this camp is to be in the squad that makes it to a competition.
‘To go down in history would be amazing.
‘My dad has mentioned what it’s like to see Scotland in a major finals, just a few times.
‘But, apart from that, the whole family are all just behind the current crop.’
Christie is sure to be involved at some point tomorrow night, with his part in Celtic’s recent surge — including three goals in as many games and a key role in the defeat of RB Leipzig — impossible for McLeish to ignore.
Having added ten kilos of muscle to a frame that was always on the skinny side of slight, he has blossomed into a potential match-winner.
On his chances of forcing himself into the starting XI, Christie said simply: ‘I was delighted to be called up again.
‘And, with two big games coming up, the next job is to make an impact for my country.
‘After I made my debut against Holland last season, I needed to keep my head down and concentrate on club football. Eventually, I knew international football would come.
‘Going into the two big games, Albania and then Israel, the boys at Celtic have a lot of momentum going into this camp.
‘Hopefully the manager can look at that and can put us in.
‘We have a lot of positivity and feel as if we’re playing at the top of our game.
‘The way we’re playing for our club means we hope to take that into Scotland’s games. Everyone is at the top of their game.
‘It’s good we can take confidence from Celtic, where we have won must-win games recently, and take that into Scotland.
‘We know how big these two games are but all the boys are very confident we can get the results.’
That track record of winning when anything less than victory means disaster, the ability to rise to each challenge, is what sets these Celtic players apart from most in the squad.
When many thought they might struggle against Hearts at Murrayfield, they stormed to a Betfred Cup semi-final victory with something to spare.
Against Leipzig last Thursday night, they needed to win to keep their Europa League hopes alive. And they did win. In some style.
Unless McLeish sees something seriously amiss in training, he should involve at least four Celtic players — Forrest, Tierney, McGregor and Christie — tomorrow night.
After all, they’ve passed the first test failed by so many this time around. They’ve turned up. Proving their patriotism simply be being there.
My memories of watching Scotland all end with disappointment