I think the World of Him – Ange Postecoglou Delivers Glowing Praise for Fringe star

Amidst all the speculation around Celtic players departing the club, Ange Postecoglou has given a special mention to defender Anthony Ralston.

Croatian international Josip Juranovic looks very likely to complete his move to Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin and when asked whether he had already found Juranovic’s replacement in new arrival Alistair Johnston, Postecoglou didn’t want to speak about the right back position without giving mention to the academy graduate.

Since Postecoglou arrived at the club, Ralston has been one of the real success stories as he went from looking as though his time at the club was up after being written off by many fans to a regular first team star.

One of the biggest moments he came up with last season was his injury time winning goal against Ross County to hand Celtic a huge three points.

Following the return after the World Cup break, he picked up an injury in the clash against Livingston which has kept him out the team ever since as he isn’t just quite ready to make his return from injury although he has been back in training.

Just because Johnston has arrived for a decent fee, there will still be a place for Ralston in the team.

“Yeah, if Alistair outperforms what Josip did. He set a high bar. It’s not just Alistair,” said Postecoglou speaking to celticfc.tv.

“I think the world of Anthony Ralston. He’s still a young man. Unfortunately, he’s been injured lately but he’s another one.

“When I put the team together 18 months ago I knew there had to be a smattering of different age groups and experiences. Guys like Josip, and Giakoumakis to a certain extent, we needed some men in the building. Guys like that really fulfilled where we needed to be in a short space of time.

“Underpinning that are guys like Tony, who I think has a fantastic career ahead of him as a full-back for us. Alistair is 24. With both of them there it gives us an opportunity for growth and improvement. Josip set the bar high so there’s the challenge for these guys now.”