“This is exactly what the gaffer has drilled into us,” Anthony Ralston

15th December 2021; Victoria Park, Dingwall, Scotland, Scottish Premier league football, Ross County versus Celtic; Anthony Ralston of Celtic heads the winner for Celtic in the 97th minute making it 2-1 to Celtic

Fast-forward to this summer and Anthony is preparing for a year competing at Celtic Park for the starting berth on the right side of the defence, with the added glamour of playing Champions League group stage football to come. His rise has been nothing short of meteoric and he now has a Scotland cap into the bargain. What a turnaround indeed.

The man affectionely referred to as “The Brickie” and “Raldinho” by the Celtic support, has been previewing the season ahead and sat down with Celtic TV to discuss the training so far. Ralston admitted it has been really challenging but that standards must be maintained to eclipse last year’s achievements. He said: “It’s been tough, it’s been hard, but it’s been good. We are implementing our standards again of where we finished last season and we are looking at where we want to start to improve.

15th December 2021; Victoria Park, Dingwall, Scotland, Scottish Premier league football, Ross County versus Celtic; Anthony Ralston of Celtic celebrates after he heads the winner for Celtic in the 97th minute making it 2-1

“This is exactly what the gaffer has drilled into us from day one. We all know what’s expected here at this club so we are just all ready to go. It’s just about putting the work in. The way training is laid out for us is to improve and get everything in place with our fitness and technically so that when that first game of the season comes round we’re ready to go. We go straight into a busy schedule so we need to be in top form and in top physical shape as well.”

Tony also reflected on his Scotland cap in June in the Nations League, in which he was man of the match against Armenia. The defender scored and also played a fantastic match for Steve Clarke’s side, who were eager to put behind the cutting disappointment of losing out on a play-off place for the Qatar World Cup this year versus Ukraine at home.

Tony Ralston opens the scoring (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Looking back on his exploits for his country, Ralston couldn’t be prouder but revealed he was glad to get away and spend some time with the family afterwards. He said: “It was nice to get away with Scotland and have a few weeks of training there and a few games. Scoring my first goal was a proud moment for myself and my family. Then I got a wee bit of a break after that and I got a bit of time with my family, I got away with my daughter and just had a wee break which was nice.”

https://www.celticfc.com/news/2022/july/05/Ralston–We-want-to-use-pre-season-to-improve-our-standards-for-next-season/

Paul Gillespie