This summer the Celtic fans will get to enjoy the Euros in Germany knowing that Callum McGregor and Greg Taylor are likely to feature for Steve Clarke’sside.
Whilst McGregor‘s seat on the plane to Munich is pretty much guaranteed, Taylor may have a wee bit of work to do to ensure he is there when the tournament kicks off in June.
I would expect the fullback to be taken as a good backup to Andy Robertson and Aaron Hickey as Taylor does have a great engine going up and down that left flank.
However, there is one forgotten Celtic player who can still book his ticket to Germany and his former gaffer, Neil Lennon, has told him exactly what he needs to do tonight to give himself the best chance of going to the tournament.
Anthony Ralston must perform against Northern Ireland
The Celtic fullback was brought on as a second-half substitute against the Netherlands when the score was 1-0 to the Dutch.
But in the subsequent 20 minutes thereafter, Steve Clarke‘s side capitulated and conceded three goals late in the game to record another 4-0 defeat in Rotterdam.
However, Lennon has said that Ralston just needs to do one simple thing to convince Clarke that he deserves to go to the Euros and it starts tonight against Northern Ireland.
Lennon said [PLZ Soccer], “I think Steve will know what is in his mind what his best starting eleven will be it’s getting the rest of them to get close to that level because he’s going to need the squad in depth for the three games in the Euros.
“So the Northern Ireland game and the ones leading into the tournament are pivotal for the likes of your [Anthony] Ralston‘s and your [Grant] Handley’s and all these guys to get up to speed.”
Now I am not suggesting that Ralston was to blame for the late capitulation but the defender now has his work cut out to prove he has a place in Clarke’s Euros squad.
Ralston is certainly a player the Celtic fans trust to come in and do a job for the team so there is no reason to think he can’t do the same for Clarke for the upcoming finals.