Anthony Ralston still has a chuckle when he’s reminded he was once compared by Brendan Rodgers to Celtic legend Danny McGrain.
The Hoops defender knows he – or anyone else for that matter – is unlikely to ever hit those heights. But he can have the last laugh over the club great when it comes to one thing. The free-scoring full-back notched five goals last season on the march to the league and League Cup Double to take his career total to 10 – one more than McGrain managed in nearly 700 games at Parkhead. If nothing else it’s ammunition to take in to the Lennoxtown dressing room, with the Hoops hero still very much in with the bricks behind the scenes.
As for the comparison? Ralston still doesn’t know if he should be honoured – or McGrain should feel offended. It was one of the more fanciful lines from former boss Rodgers, who claimed there was a hint of Danny in the then Celtic Under-17 full-back. In fairness, the manager might have been referring to the similarities in shapes as much as anything but it was high praise and no surprise when Rodgers then drafted the youngster in to the first-team squad.
Ralston was even thrust into the lion’s den of a Champions League clash with PSG and although his career took a few detours for a few years, the 23-year-old Scotland man is very much back on track. And on the goal trail again.
Ralston said: “I hadn’t realised I’ve now scored more goals than Danny – I’ll need to mention it to him. He’ll love that! I don’t think I’ll ever reach Danny’s levels but at least that’s something I can have over him.
“It was nice to get compared to him of course but the one thing I’ve never done is get carried away over things that get said.I keep myself grounded and I have good people around me to keep my feet on the ground. I’m not sure how Danny felt about being compared to me!”
Ralston notched some important goals last term – especially the 97th-minute winner away to Ross County that ended up so crucial in the title race.
He’s out for more of the same this coming campaign and added: “I managed to get a few goals last season and a couple of big ones – I’ll take it. There were some individual moments but the most important is what we did as a team. There were big moments throughout the season and everyone to a man stepped up.
“That’s why we’re champions. We need to do it again and it’s about the team rather than individuals.”
Celtic have clicked as a team on their return to pre-season. They have looked slick in displays against Legia Warsaw and Banik Ostrava. Postecoglou’s men face Blackburn today and it’s some contrast to 12 months ago when a cobbled-together side got clobbered 6-2 by West Ham and alarm bells were going off all over the shop.
Ralston said: “The West Ham game last year was a bit of a learning curve for us. We had a lot of young boys playing and
we were getting used to a new system.
“We had to take it on the chin. The gaffer knew we’d kick on and it just shows you how things work out. We ended up winning the league.
“Pre-season is about getting game time and match fitness, as well as gelling as a team. It’s about implementing our style of play and you sometimes need a few learning curves along the way at this stage.
“It’s been good to get the boys back together and we’ve picked up where we left off last season in terms of the standards we expect to hit in training and in the matches. It’s a lot more settled and we are ready to kick on for the start of the season.
“We will up our performance again against Blackburn. The gaffer is looking for us to keep improving. We’ve started very well in pre-season and we want to continue in that way.”
Scoring 14 goals in three games so far suggests Celtic won’t be holding back again this year either. And Ralston is thrilled to see the likes of Kyogo and Giorgos Giakoumakis both fit and firing at the same time.
He said: “They are both very talented players who are different in their own rights. They have been very influential for us last season and you can see they are doing it again in pre-season. It’s exciting having the pair of them and hopefully they can do it again over the course of the season.
“We’ve got great attacking players and we’re a very attacking side. We are a dangerous side but we know we need to keep improving, working on our strengths and weaknesses.”
The title race is shaping up to be a thriller but Ralston is also eying up the Champions League after getting a taste under Rodgers. Squaring up with Neymar in a 5-0 home defeat to PSG was another one of the learning curve moments, but the fans’ favourite is hungry for another crack at the best on the planet.
Ralston said: “That’s the next step for us all as a team. We’ve got the group stages this season and we’ll come up against the best teams in the world. We need to be ready for that challenge. There’s a lot to play for as always and we need everyone together. We’re on a good path.”
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