Soccer Football - UEFA Nations League - Group E - Scotland v Armenia - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - June 8, 2022 Scotland's Anthony Ralston celebrates scoring their first goal REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Tony Ralston is ready to answer the international call at the third time of asking.
The Celtic defender made the breakthrough to the full international squad last season but found Nathan Patterson and Aaron Hickey ahead of him in the queue for the September Nations League ties.
Patterson was crocked last week in the home win over Ukraine with Ralston called on to replace Hickey in the win over Ireland but has stayed with the squad for tomorrow’s final group match in Poland.
The Celtic defender has only started two club matches this season but told Glasgow Times how he is on stand-by for tomorrow’s match:
We will just need see how things develop, but we will all be ready as a squad. We will be expecting another tough game. They always do bring that. It will just be the same as what we have been doing in the past few games.
We will all just need to recover. It is a quick turnaround and there are a lot of games in quick succession so we need to be ready.
It is just about gaining experience. I have been fortunate enough to play for my country before and that helped me on Saturday night when I came on. Everybody just needs to stay together and go in the right direction.
You just have to believe in yourself. That is important in your football career, regardless of what level you are at. You need to believe you can play. That is important for everyone who is involved.
Greg Taylor looks certain to play at left-back tomorrow for his old Kilmarnock boss with Andy Robertson and Kieran Tierney both out injured.
Game time for Ralston will be welcomed by Ange Postecoglou who is preparing for 13 matches between October 1 and November 12 and the break for the World Cup Finals.
Clarke got some success finally with a play-off spot for Eoro 2024. Congratulations! He admitted that he had to rip up the plan and start again somewhere between the end and the beginning. His problem seemed to stem from a hard, but basic decision, he was reluctant to make; to choose between his two left-backs; Tierney or Robertson? It is a situation faced many times by a football manager.
But either, if chosen, would also be the best player in the team and would therefore be the team’s captain! And rather than chose between them, he compromised, made Robbo the captain – and moved Tierney to central defence. That was a mistake for sure. He had to change the team formation to accomodate this solution and the last thing a good player wants is to be played out of position.
I think that destabalised the whole team, injuries ensued and he ended up going through more full-backs than Joan Collins did husbands! A better solution would have been to play his best player in the position, Tierney in my opinion – and change them at half-time, so making the team stronger – rather than weakening it. Just a case of thinking it through, me thinks!