Celtic's Mr Reliable plans three-pronged attack as YouTube admission made over dream Hampden strike

Drafted back into Martin O’Neill’s starting XI in recent weeks due to a spate of injuries at right-back, Ralston fired Celtic into a 2-0 lead on the cusp of half-time with a vicious right-foot drive, and showed his worth to the Celtic cause by delivering a typically reliable performance at the national stadium.

While a shock second-half double from Mikael Mandron forced the game into another 30 minutes, Celtic blew their opponents away four goals in six minutes during the first half of extra-time, setting up a Scottish Cup final clash with Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline Athletic on May 23.

“It’s just about trying to be as clean a strike as possible across the goal although it was maybe not as close to the crossbar as I wanted it to be,” smiled Ralston. “I'd not scored at Hampden before so it was an incredible feeling. It's one for me and my family to look back on in years to come. In terms of the way the game went, we could have obviously shut it out better, that is the truth.

“But in the end, the mentality that we showed – and we've shown all through the years that's given us success – we had to show it again and in abundance to get the job done. For the here and now, I'm just happy I was able to contribute to the team in the end and get a positive result. My daughter wasn’t there but I'm sure I'll get it up on YouTube for her so she can have a look at it.”

Just his third start this calendar year, the 27-year-old is likely to have a big part to play for both club and country in the months to come. With Julian Araujo and Colby Donovan both out injured, and Alistair Johnston still not ready to return from hamstring surgery, Ralston is expected to feature prominently in the final five games of the Scottish Premiership as Celtic look to overthrow Hearts at the top of the table.

Securing a spot in Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad for the World Cup this summer is also on the agenda, as Ralston aims to end a difficult season on the highest of notes.

“I think I've gained experience over the years,” said Ralston. “I'm not getting any younger and I know I'm not exactly old, but I've been around for quite a long time now. I've been around the success and had great role models kind of come through and none of them ever chucked it or gave up in training sessions or anything like that.

“I'd only be letting myself down, my family down, if I was going to not be professional and not do the work. When it all comes together in moments like today it makes it all worth it. That's my kind of drive is to not let anyone down, myself and anything like that. That's just what keeps me going and keeps me in a good place to be able to perform.

“That's always my mentality, I don't take anything for granted. Football is a crazy game, you know, and that's why days like today I need to keep taking my opportunities. I need to keep proving myself too, to hopefully get in that [Scotland] squad. Obviously that's my aim, alongside gaining success and winning trophies with Celtic. I've got a lot that keeps me going and a lot that drives me every day to be at my best.

“We know it's been a tough season, but there'd be nothing better than to go and get the double. I've got enough on my plate now to try and win more, so I'm going to keep trying my best to win more trophies at Celtic. We've obviously got a title race to take care of over the next couple of weeks and then we can have that at the end of the season. We'll focus on that and hopefully we can get more silverware.

“I'll look into that [getting into the Scotland squad] later down the line. I've got enough on my plate now to try and win more, so I'm going to keep trying my best to win more trophies at Celtic going into the end of the season, and also be successful internationally as well.”

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