All the talk this week has been about Celtic’s squad depth and the quality of the players who are waiting in the wings to get their chance under Brendan Rodgers.
Against Atletico, most of the conversation surrounded Hyeongyu Oh and why he was left on the bench when Celtic needed a goal.
Today, it’s about whether Celtic actually have that quality to come on and make a difference when required. And the 0-0 draw with Hibs was a reminder that they look like they don’t.
One player that made an appearance was Anthony Ralston. A major part of Ange Postecoglou’s team in the Australian’s first season at the club, Ralston has had to settle for minutes from the bench under Rodgers.
But to be fair to him, the form of Alistair Johnston is to blame for that. Ralston came on in the first half against the Edinburgh side after the Canadian was subbed due to a concussion.
He played fairly well but didn’t do enough to help Celtic avoid dropping points. But Ralston has been told by Pat Bonner that he will need more minutes to get himself sharp for Celtic.
The former Celtic hero said that whilst the 24-year-old is dependable, his lack of first-team minutes could affect him putting in good performances when called upon.
Bonner said [BBC Sportsound], “Tony Ralston won’t let them down. The problem for Tony is that he’s not getting games.
“He, obviously, is trying to keep himself right by training and all of that.
“But games, when you miss a lot of games, you’re not going to be sharp.”
Ralston signed a new deal with Celtic over the summer and whilst I think even he realises he will play second fiddle to Alistair Johnston, the Scotland international is still rated highly by Brendan Rodgers.
When Ralston signed his new deal at Celtic, Rodgers said the full-back still has a big part to play at the club and that he’s ‘very important’ to the first-team squad.
If that’s the case then Rodgers needs to start playing him more and I suspect that could be the case when St Mirren comes to visit Parkhead on Wednesday night.
I’m a huge fan of Ralston but he does need to get more minutes into those legs of his because if he doesn’t, we could be watching a wasted talent just sitting watching on from the Celtic bench.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers not happy that 24-year-old Celtic man kept ‘needlessly’ giving the ball away vs Hibernian