Anthony Ralston repays Scotland faith as Celtic backup’s club vs country minutes compared

Anthony Ralston has been an integral part of Steve Clarke’s side throughout this Nations League campaign, but he remains on the periphery at club level.

The Celtic right-back started all six Scotland games in the European competition, and despite a disappointing Euro 2024 campaign, the 26-year-old has been a solid defender for the national side during the recent international breaks. Many wondered if he would also have to make do with a place on the bench behind Nicky Devlin, given the Dons defender’s flying start under Jimmy Thelin but Clarke often repays players who have done a job for him and Ralston was an ever-present.

It was his full-back colleague Andy Robertson who secured a dramatic late win for the men’s national side last night, as the captain rose well to bullet a header over the line in the final seconds of the game. By that point, Devlin had indeed replaced Ralston, who left the pitch with 15 minutes to go - the earliest he had been subbed off in this campaign.

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This now means that Ralston has played more than double the minutes from his country this season than he has for Brendan Rodgers’ side. He has clocked up a total of 232 minutes for Celtic across eight appearances, with only one of them coming as a start for the side.

On international duty, however, he’s played 525 minutes out of a possible 540, showing his importance to the national team given that he has therefore played 97.22% of possible minutes in the Nations League. While some would have preferred to see Devlin making a start in at least one of the previous two games, Clarke trusted Ralston to help get the side out of a rut, and he repaid the manager, no doubt about that.

His long-term international football remains unclear, however. Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson are still ruled out but the latter is beginning to make a return to first-team action, and both could potentially knock Ralston down the pecking order.

The full-back is loving every second of his international career too. “The way I view it, it’s just an honour to represent my country every time I do it,” he said. “I don’t take it for granted. My family come out and support me every time. I try and cherish every moment whilst it’s here. I’ll continue to try and do the best job I can for my country.”

He’s not alone in playing more Scotland minutes compared to his country either. Fellow defender Grant Hanley has played only 168 minutes for Norwich this season across all competitions. However, he has played a part for Scotland for 495 minutes across the six games, only missing the second half against Croatia on Friday evening.

Clarke is known for being faithful to players he can trust, players that may not be the popular or consensus picks, but players he can rely on. It is clear that Ralston, and Hanlay, are part of a core group the former Kilmarnock boss is able to turn to.