I've been at Celtic for 18 years and won 14 trophies but I'll NEVER take it for granted says Anthony Ralston
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THE sun shone on Celtic — and once again Tony Ralston shone for them.
As a kid with a headful of dreams of becoming a pro, it was the image he always saw.
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Anthony Ralston in action for Celtic
Credit: Kenny Ramsay
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Celtic's Anthony Ralston and Hibernian's Nicky Cadden (right) battle for the ball
Credit: PA
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Game time this season at Celtic has been limited for Ralston
Credit: Kenny Ramsay
And while the right-back has started only one more game for the Hoops than he has for Scotland this season — nine to eight — he'll never take for granted what he's doing at the champions.
Opportunities may have been few and far between this term, but Ralston will never rush to find pastures new.
He looks at the likes of skipper Callum McGregor and all-time leading trophy winner James Forrest, and the way they have become legends by staying put their whole career.
If you offered him the same chance to be a one-club man right now too, Ralston, 26, would snap your hand off.
He said: 'Yeah, I've been here since the age of eight, and worked all my life to be a Celtic player.
'I'm a Celtic fan, I come from a Celtic family.
'So days like this, playing at Celtic Park, with my friends and family coming to the game means I'd be silly to say I want anything else.
'Of course you want to be playing, and I'll continue to keep my head down and work for that.
'But Celtic's my job and this is where I love to be.
'On a day like this you had the sun beaming down and I was playing a game of football at Celtic Park.
Fresh drone footage goes behind the scenes at Celtic's delayed new training complex
'If you'd said when I was a kid that would be the case, that that's what I'd be doing, I wouldn't have believed you. I never take it for granted.'
It's why he'll try to take everything in from this Saturday's trophy day — already the seventh of a 14-medal career.
Ralston added: 'You know, I never take those for granted either. My family will all come along to that and we'll enjoy that day when it comes.
'But we still have another game on Wednesday up at Aberdeen to take care of before that.'
After the league title was wrapped up, fellow right-back Alistair Johnston was allowed to have a jab he'd been putting off to help fix an injury issue.
It should see the Canadian back in time for the Scottish Cup final a week on Saturday, as the Hoops attempt to land yet another domestic Treble.
In the meantime, though, his absence has opened the door for Ralston to get more game time, and he filled in effectively once again in the win over Hibs.
Staying match sharp is understandably difficult for players who haven't been regulars, but Ralston reckons the relentless levels boss Brendan Rodgers sets each day in training ensure everyone is always on their toes.
Whether that's for his club or when he's been called on for Scotland in this campaign.
Ralston said: 'In my situation, like a few other boys, there wasn't always the guarantee that you were going to train through the week then get a game at the weekend.
'But if I were to not put the performances in or work hard in training, then when the opportunity comes along, I'd only be letting myself down.
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'I wouldn't be able to take it, ultimately.
'So I've kept professional, kept my head down and trained every day.
'Then, when opportunities have come, hopefully I haven't let myself down. That's all I've tried to do.
'It's the same with Scotland. If I don't do the basics right and be professional in my job every day, then I don't take my opportunities and that might not be there either.
'It's more than worth it just keeping your head down and being professional.
'The gaffer has put me in these last couple of games.
'My aim is just to try to do my job for the team. I don't look too far ahead.
'We've got an amazing squad, we've been so successful this season. I'm really happy to be part of it.'
It's also one of the reasons he thinks they were able to sweep David Gray's Hibs side away despite the game being meaningless as far as the league goes.
After Martin Boyle put Hibs in front, the Hoops hit back in the space of the final four minutes of the first half as goals from Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah had them ahead at the break.
Reo Hatate's strike on the hour mark ultimately killed things off.
Ralston added: 'The message beforehand was we needed to continue to be professional and get the job done.
'It's another game of football for us, but we've still got a lot to play for until the end of the season.
'You can't switch on and off at this level. The message was clear — that we're going to play the same as we have through the season. I was glad we did that as a team.
'With the mindset in terms of what's drilled into us on a daily basis in training and how we operate, it's very hard to do the opposite.
'You would need to purposely try to not be professional and not take things as seriously.
'As a group we're just not those types of boys.
'We are very professional in how we go about our business. We know there's a lot to play for. You can't switch it on and off.
'So starting with Saturday, we were just going to get the job done. That's it.'
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