Russia was tough but it helped me escape flak from my shocking foul
SAYS RYAN CHRISTIE
RYAN Christie admits he had no complaints over his red card for a ‘shocking challenge’ on Livingston’s Scott Robinson.
The Scotland midfielder was sent packing after 25 minutes of Celtic’s first league defeat of the season in West Lothian last weekend.
Despite then being part of a dismal 4-0 loss to Russia in Moscow, the Parkhead playmaker was relieved just to escape the flak following an offence which left him feeling like he wanted to bury his head in the sand.
No longer on Twitter after being targeted by online trolls, the 24-year-old admits his dangerous tackle on Livingston’s opening goalscorer was borne of frustration after a poor start to the game.
Keen to learn from a bad week and channel his aggression in future, Christie said: ‘I think people realised I am not that kind of player and I hold my hands up.
‘I knew straight away it was a shocking challenge and I had no complaints with the referee. It was a terrible challenge.
‘But it’s important, and my gaffer at the club said it, that the most important thing is you bounce back and you learn from it.
‘You need to find the line with controlled aggression. I was just frustrated with the way I started the game and I ended up lunging in. That’s when you can hurt someone and I was gutted.
‘I’m over it now and it helped getting back on to the park in Russia, even though the result was not what we wanted.’
Christie was a late substitute in the Luzhniki Stadium after John McGinn started in support of Oli Burke.
His absence from Steve Clarke’s starting line-up raised eyebrows, but the former Inverness Caley Thistle player was simply glad to be out of the country to flee the reaction to his red card.
‘At one point, I just wanted to bury my head in the sand a little bit,’ he said.
‘It was nice not to be suspended for these [Scotland] games and get a chance and, hopefully, I can get another chance on Sunday against San Marino to bounce back.’
A target for anonymous keyboard warriors, Christie was made aware of some personal attacks and criticism, but now tries to filter what gets through.
‘For me, personally, I don’t really have the Twitter App. But even if you are not on it, it’s kind of word of mouth,’ he said.
‘Your friends and people can’t help but show what this person and that person has said.
‘It’s basically impossible to stay away from it. People say stay away from the App but, even if you do that, it will always get back to you.
‘Things like Instagram are better in a way because you can set it so you can’t really see these sorts of things.
‘Twitter is hard. As soon as someone mentions you, it’s straight onto your timeline.
‘For me, I think it’s best that I just call it a day (on social media).
‘At the end of the day, I’ve realised it’s maybe just a platform for people to come at you. The quicker you get rid of it the better.’
Relieved that Robinson escaped serious injury as a result of his lunge, Christie added: ‘He was alright.
The Livvy manager [Gary Holt] was alright as well. I spoke to him and it was nice speaking to him and know they had no ongoing feelings after it.’
Clarke’s decision not to start with Christie in the Luzhniki Stadium was a contentious one.
Celtic team-mate James Forrest was also missing and, with the Scots failing to hold on to the ball to relieve the defensive pressure, it brought the Scotland manager’s initial selection under scrutiny.
Christie had Scotland’s first shot on target after 74 minutes, a measure of a night he branded ‘embarrassing’.
‘All week we worked to come up with a game plan and everyone felt good again,’ he revealed.
‘We looked as though we could bring a result home and then, 57 or 58 minutes, we lose a goal.
‘It’s strange because we felt good. They created a bit in the first half, but we came out and got a foothold in the game.
‘That’s just when you need to keep your concentration at its highest and, again, it (the opening goal) is from a set piece.
‘The gaffer was a bit frustrated about that and we need to learn quickly.’
“At one point, I just wanted to bury my head in the sand”