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.
