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.
But Wilson is adamant that Ralston is good enough to play in Postecoglou’s team, even if Johnston arrives from Montreal. He told Mailsport : “I’ve been there. I watched the likes of Hinkel and Cha Du Ri come in when I was at Celtic.
“The two who eventually did me were Lustig and Adam Matthews. One arrived in the summer, one in January and that was it for me. Before that, I had so many challenges. But I thrived on the fact the guys Celtic were bringing in were international players. It probably pushed me and made me more determined. With Gordon Strachan it was Paul Telfer and Hinkel.
“But when I was fit, I managed to get myself picked for the bigger games. Under Neil Lennon, Cha Du Ri was brought in. At times, it was difficult to get my head around it. I would ask myself: ‘Why am I not just trusted’? But it’s always the case at Celtic when you’re young and Scottish.
“The club is always going to demand an international class player to challenge you. And I think it ends up helping the player and the team because it gets the best out of you.
“When you get rid of one full-back, you think: ‘Brilliant, I’ll get a wee run at this now’. At one point, Paul Caddis was behind me and I thought the we’d vie for the position. But before you know it, they’re bringing someone else in. It’s only natural to think: ‘I’m not good enough to hold this position down myself’.
“I probably went through a wee bit of that at one stage if I’m honest. But even if Johnston comes in, I would encourage Ralston just to stick in, do what he’s doing and he’ll get his reward. I think Ralston is good enough to battle with Juranovic, Johnston, or both.”
Ralston has made nine appearances for Celtic already this season, even with the Croat regarded as Postecoglou’s first-choice right-back. Last term, he played 50 games for the club and scored six goals.
Wilson hopes the Scot’s mental strength makes him believe in his ability to go toe-to-toe with any newcomers.
He said: “Ralston is a fit lad, he’s very rarely injured and when he plays he’s got as many goals and assists as Juranovic.
“If you look at Johnston as well over the last couple of years, Ralston surpasses him in that regard as well. He’s
mentally strong anyway, he’s proved that to still be at Celtic. When you see where he’s come from – a few years ago he was out the door and written off by everyone; he was at the lowest point of his career.
“He won’t hit lower than that. He’s proved he can compete for a place at Celtic with guys like Juranovic who is playing on the biggest stage at the World Cup. Celtic play so many games that Ralston will still get a decent return in terms of his appearances come the end of the season.
“The club can’t rest on its laurels. They can’t presume Juranovic will stay beyond January then, on the last day of the window, he leaves and Ralston is their only right-back. That can’t happen. The club will always look after themselves. But Ange changes his team so much that Ralston will always get opportunities.
“The competition at right-back has certainly worked for Celtic when you think of Juranovic and Ralston so far. They have dovetailed fantastically well under Ange.”
If Ralston needs any encouragement or inspiration, he only has to look on the other side of the pitch to Greg Taylor.
When Alexandro Bernabei was brought in from Lanus in the summer for almost £4million, Taylor’s place was under threat.
But he has excelled this season and left the Argentine kicking his heels on the bench.
Wilson said: “It’s very rare that you’ll see two Scottish full-backs playing together or vying for one spot. There always seems to be others who come in. Everyone thought Taylor would be out of the team when Bernabei came in.
“But he’s taken his game up a level this season. Guys like Diego Laxalt came in at left-back to challenge him.
“He had a fancy name and a big reputation because he played at AC Milan. But Taylor was knocking his pan in behind the scenes and has eventually come to the fore.
“Ralston has done the same. Both Scottish full-backs have done remarkably well to play in this team, in a style under Ange that no young Scottish full-backs have played before.
“They’ve adapted to it brilliantly. Ralston is in a good place and if Johnston arrives, it should push him on and make him a better player.”
