Anthony Ralston is determined to help Celtic burst through the title finishing tape at Tynecastle.
If he does, the first man congratulating him is likely to be right-back buddy Alistair Johnston. Ralston is ready to go for boss Ange Postecoglou as the champions-elect target the manager’s second-successive Premiership flag. The 24-year-old has started just one game this calendar year in the home encounter against Hearts at the beginning of March, but his dedication and commitment levels on the training pitch ensured he was prepared for a key introduction at a crucial time in the Treble chase.
Injury sustained by Johnston at the start of the second-half during the Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers meant Ralston was plunged from long absence into the pressure-pot situation. Yet, as he has done throughout Postecoglou's reign, the Scotland star came up trumps by slotting seamlessly into his role and helping his team see the game out to win 1-0 and book a place in the Final.
Now eyes are back onto the title prize with the boss determined that his team finish off the campaign with a flourish. Ralston will be on alert as he said: “That’s the mindset of all the players. It’s a big squad and it’s important to know your role when you could be called on at any point.
“Either way, you just want to win. It’s how we win it as well. We want to be able to burst through the finish. It’s not a case of letting up at all. My job wasn’t to go on (at Hampden) and do anything for myself, it was for the team. That’s drummed right through us.
“We’ve no other choice. From day one, the gaffer’s message has been that we train every day like we are going to play, and that’s what we all do. That’s the reason why boys, and on Sunday it was not just myself, can come off the bench and do a job because we train every day at the highest level.
“Even the boys that weren’t there on Sunday, they train every day to make us the best we can be. I wish Ali all the best with his health and his recovery. If I need to step in and do my job, then I’ll step in and do my job. We’re in it as a team. Success comes as a team.”
Despite appearances dropping off this term compared to last, Ralston has been a constant rock for Postecoglou. Firstly competing with Josip Juranovic for the right-back slot, he was a seamless deputy when the Croatian wasn’t around and again filled the role during the transitional period between his switch to Union Berlin and the availability of Johnston.
The Canadian has been the regular since his transfer with Hampden just Ralston’s second appearance since before last Christmas. But Johnston was on the Hampden waving around his crutches at the full-time whistle alongside jubilant team-mates last weekend and the support network and unity within the group is obvious.
Ralston explained: “Of course you want to be playing as much as possible. But the most important thing is the end goal and that end goal is achieved by having a squad, not individuals. It’s not about what you want personally, it’s about a squad of boys that want to achieve special things. That’s what we want to do and that’s how we work.
“Me and Josip had a great relationship. If he was in, I would support him and the same the other way round. It’s the same with me and Ali. We’ve got a great relationship as well. I wish him all the best with his health and his recovery.”
Winning the title at Tynecastle would, of course, bring memories of where it all began for Postecoglou. Although the Aussie’s first-ever Premiership game in Scotland was a defeat, it was Ralston who scored the first goal of that title run which ended with the trophy in hands. He said: “That feels like a lifetime ago now. I closed my eyes and hoped for the best with my left foot!
“We know it’s a tough place to go, but it’s about us and we’ll go into training and get our heads down. Last Sunday is done, it’s about this weekend now. We go to work and we aim to go there and win. It’s one of our goals to win the title and we’re going to try our best to do that. It starts with the training pitch. We’ll go and implement our things in training to then go and execute it at the weekend.”
Ralston was also in the thick of the title-clicher last term with his inviting cross at Tannadice leading to a Giorgos Giakoumakis header which secured the required point against Dundee United to seal the deal. That was a sticky affair on Tayside, but looking ahead to the Capital, Ralston said: “Our aim is to play our football. If we can play our football, I’m sure everything will take care of itself.”
Naturally, Treble talk is filling the chat of fans, but he added: “We don’t think about it and we haven’t been thinking about it. We want to compete in everything we are in, Europe as well, and in everything we do. We strive to do that as a squad. Take it a day at a time like we have been from day one and we’ll, hopefully, achieve our end goal.”
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