Anthony Ralston hails Celtic’s never-say-die attitude as he discusses VAR impact on Ange Postecoglou’s style of play
CELTIC proved, once again, they never stop.
But VAR didn’t half slow them down.
Ange Postecoglou’s mantra is all about running the legs off teams from the first whistle until the last.
That’s ultimately why they got this victory in the end with two last-gasp stoppage-time goals against Dundee United.
But on a stop-start Saturday, this was no vintage Celtic performance.
VAR intervened in the action twice in the first half.
The first time was for the handball which saw United awarded a penalty — a decision which somehow took three and a half minutes to make.
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And then for a bizarre check on a potential red card which took another two minutes.
There was also a two-minute break in play for treatment to injured keeper Mark Birighitti.
So, for seven and a half minutes, all 22 players on the pitch were standing around with their hands on their hips.
The officials ended up adding on just five minutes of stoppage time at the end of the half.
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But the pauses in play were a major issue for Celtic, which is why Postecoglou is so annoyed at VAR, why he stands on the touchline shaking his head every time the ref holds his finger to his ear.
Even when there is a potential penalty against his side, he just wants the decision made and the game to get going again.
Hoops right-back Tony Ralston’s attitude towards it is that the players just need to cope, which they did admirably with their dramatic stoppage-time goals to claim three big points.
But there’s no doubt it’s a major problem for Celtic given the high-tempo way they want to play.
Ralston said: “Look, VAR has been implemented and we all need to deal with it.
“We focus on us. We don’t let the outside noise affect us.
“The referees will make their decisions and that will be that. We just need to deal with it and, again, the boys did that.
“It was hard, a bit stop-start, especially the way we want to play, which is quick and it’s intense.
“But this is what we are going to have to deal with. You just need to stay focused at all times no matter what happens, whether it’s VAR or it’s a bad a decision or whether it’s the opposition slowing the game down.
“These are all factors in the game that, mentally, we have to control ourselves. We all do that, we are used to it now.”
The first big VAR call centred around a penalty for United when it was 1-0 to Celtic.
God knows what’s right and wrong these days.
There’s no doubt the ball struck Alexandro Bernabei on the arm inside his own box when the ball was heading for the net.
But could you say for sure his hand was in an unnatural position? Did he know anything about it?
Not for me. But when it comes to handball it’s become genuinely impossible to work out just exactly what’s a penalty in 2022 and what’s not.
Ralston said: “I’m not a referee. These are the decisions they need to make at the time.
“It can be difficult, but, again, there is a very grey area there that does need to get fixed.
“We have to make sure we won’t let the outside noise affect us.”
At the end of the day this was a vital victory for Celtic as they moved seven points clear before Rangers failed to close the gap as they lost at St Johnstone yesterday.
The Hoops showed their resilience and will-to-win by going right to the death.
They were leading 2-1 after Sead Haksabanovic had scored goals either side of Steven Fletcher’s controversial spot-kick.
Dylan Levitt thought he’d nicked a point for United with his 88th-minute equaliser.
But United had just levelled too early.
Celtic refused to give up, with Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada netting in stoppage time.
Ralston said: “We don’t really see a game as being over until it is finished.
“We were aware when the goal went in what we had to do.
“We’ve been there before and credit to the boys for keeping the right mindset and keeping going until the end.
“At Kyogo’s goal, when the corner came in, I flicked it on at the front post. It’s something we work on in training and something we have been analysing.
“It is important I get across the front post just in case the corner is under-hit. That’s why I’m there. It is effective because it is hard to defend that second ball when it gets flicked on with that sort of pace. Kyogo has then done well to get a touch on it.
“We went on to get another one as well and that shows you our mentality. OK, we potentially got a last-minute winner, but we want to keep going and get as many as we can.
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“That’s the team spirit we need to have every week, every game.
“We are a squad, not just a team of 11 players. We have boys who sometimes don’t even come into the squad and they are there every day in training.
“We are a collective and we have success together. It’s not just about one or two people.
“We’re a club and a squad that is in this together and it was shown again with Kyogo going on and scoring that potential winner in stoppage tine.
“There are not any egos or any sort of heroes. As long as we keep that in mind, we’ll be heading in the right direction.”
With the January window on the horizon, there are certain to be new signings coming in as well as the possibility of players going out.
But Ralston insists that’s just the way it’s got to be.
He added: “When you are a club of this stature, you always need to have your A-game because there is always going to be someone else coming in, another person wanting to take your position.
“That’s part and parcel of not just here, but all football.
“You always want to be at the top of your game anyway.
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“You don’t want any reason to drop your game off, so, yes, it’s extra motivation for everyone to stay in and that’s the way it works.”
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