Superscoreboard pundit Alex Rae has said that Anthony Ralston should have been called up to Scotland by Steve Clarke. The 22-year-old has been a standout for Celtic so far and given Stephen O’Donnell and Nathan Paterson were forced to withdraw, it had been expected that he would receive a call-up. However, Hibs right-back Paul McGinn was called up with Steve Clarke bemoaning COVID-19 testing.
Now, Rae has said on Clyde SSB this evening that he was surprised that Ralston did not get a call-up.
“McGinn was in the squad last year, although did not make an appearance, in 2020 he was in the squad.
“I think the language Steve Clarke has used he has tried to call-up other people, but because of certain circumstances, he has not been able to bring them in.
“We should be grateful that McGinn has pitched up, because we do need another right-back there.
“I was surprised that Ralston did not get called-up. If you look at the detail and how long it takes to get them into the country, it was practically impossible to call him up.
“When you look at some of the call offs and the protocols it has been a really difficult camp for Steve Clarke.”
Ralston started the summer as Celtic’s only right back and was the subject of criticism from sections of the support. However, under Ange Postecoglou there has been a rebirth for Ralston. He was one of Celtic’s standouts against Rangers at the end of last month with Ralston matching Ryan Kent.
The form of Ralston thus far suggests that Juranovic will not displace him from the side straight away and as a result, the Croatian Internationalist will likely have to settle for a place at left-back when the team returns from international duty. It is likely that if his form continues for Celtic, Ralston will receive more caps but this was probably more to do with circumstances than anything. Due to the strict COVID-19 protocols, the National Team is required to have a player test before entering the camp’s ‘Bubble’ and then test before the games so there was a narrow window meaning McGinn was invited in after a number of targets were unable to get to the Scotland camp.
