NOBODY needs to tell Anthony Ralston about the virtues of showing patience. The full-back spent so long waiting for his chance at Celtic that his time out of the first-team at the start of this season would have been a dawdle in comparison.
What also helped the right-back, who resurrected his Celtic career last term under Ange Postecoglou, has been the sure knowledge that the demands on the squad as their schedule increased would guarantee he got a fair shake at regular football once more.
He got that opportunity in Wednesday night’s League Cup win against Ross County in place of Josip Juranovic, slipping seamlessly back into the starting XI and helping the tournament holders progress with the minimum of fuss.
There was never any likelihood though of Ralston knocking on his manager’s door had he not been drafted in, and the full-back says that the entire squad being united behind their goals – not only the 11 men who take to the park on any given day – is the key to their success.
“It is part and parcel of football,” Ralston said. “We have a good squad. We have a lot of games coming up this season so it is just about keeping the mentality of being ready for when you chance comes.
“We are all going to play games and it is an exciting season for us all. So we all have to stay ready, stay mentally positive and that’s what we have all done.
“You see [against Ross County] all the boys who came in, we’ve all put in a good performance. So now we recover and get ready for the weekend.
“There are a lot of games coming up. It is one game at a time. Whoever plays, we’ve got a strong team. It is not about that, we are in it as a team, in it as a squad.
“We support each other, and like you seen [on Wednesday] the boys that came in done their job. Boys that play at the weekend will do the same, and so on.
“We have a good squad and we are ready for the new season.”
What was striking about the win over County was that despite the wholesale changes made by Postecoglou – nine in all from the weekend’s demolition of Dundee United – the standard of performance didn’t noticeably drop. Even if the nine-goal winning margin was always going to be difficult to repeat.
There will be bigger fish to fry in the coming days for Celtic of course, and Ralston is odds-on to find himself back on the bench for the first Old Firm showdown of the season tomorrow before the Champions League kicks off against the holders at Celtic Park on Tuesday night.
The important thing though according to Ralston, is that no matter who takes to the pitch for Celtic, and no matter if they are facing Ross County, Rangers or Real Madrid, is that the standards they have set for one another are maintained.
“That is just [coming from] the performances in training,” he said. “Keeping the levels, keeping everybody mentally strong and that is what it takes to perform at the level that we want to perform at every single game. We will now rest and recover.
“You see the performance the boys put in at the weekend. And it was important that the boys who came in [against County] maintained the standards. That is what is required when you are at a club like this.
“That is the message we get given. And it is credit to the lads that we put the work in every day at training, even when you are not involved, so that when nights like [Wednesday] come you are ready to perform, as we all did.”
