Mark Wilson knows exactly how Anthony Ralston must be feeling at Celtic right now.
The club’s young Scottish right-back is currently vying for his position at Parkhead with Croatia World Cup star, Josip Juranovic. As if that isn’t hard enough, news would have filtered through to him yesterday that gaffer Ange Postecoglou is now chasing another in Canada ace Alistair Johnston, who is also starring in Qatar. That move looks likely to go through in the January transfer window, leaving Ralston with the almighty task of competing with both.
Juranovic has been linked with moves away from the Hoops so his future is up in the air. And that’s why Wilson has urged 24-year-old Ralston not to press the panic button. In six years at Celtic, Wilson faced a fight for his shirt with various full-backs who were brought in. The likes of Andreas Hinkel and Cha Du Ri were seen off before Mikael Lustig eventually ousted him. Wilson insists the more competition Ralston faces, the better player he’ll become. He believes it’s tough for any homegrown Scot to nail down a place at a club the size of Celtic. And he knows Ralston will have moments of self-doubt – just like he did.
