Former Rangers and Scotland right back believes Celtic’s Anthony Ralston faces battle to be first choice at Euro 2024
With Ross McCrorie making his debut in Gibraltar, Hutton believes it is unlikely that Ralston would start against Germany. Alan Hutton reckons Anthony Ralston must convince Scotland manager Steve Clarke that he can be his first-choice right-back for Euro 2024.
The position is open due to injuries to regulars Aaron Hickey and Nathan Patterson, who will miss the competition. And in Scotland’s 2-0 win over Gibraltar last night in their penultimate warm-up match before facing Germany on June 14 in the tournament opener, Bristol City’s Ross McCrorie made his Scotland debut in the position, while Celtic ace Ralston sat on the bench as an unused substitute.
Despite playing fewer minutes than McCrorie since the turn of the year, Bellshill-born Ralston is many observers’ pick to start in Munich, but ex-Scotland and Rangers right-back Hutton believes it could go either way – and Friday night’s friendly against Finland at Hampden will determine who gets the nod at the Allianz Arena.
Hutton told Premier Sports: “I believe we will see Ralston against Finland. We had spoken earlier that we thought the Finland game would be similar to the starting lineup against Germany, so it is a big game for him.
“I believe the battle is between these two. You’ll miss Hickey and Patterson going forward, but it’s on to the boys in the squad right now to go out and prove to the boss they’re capable, which they are. Ross had a great opportunity tonight, and Anthony will have one on Friday.
“I believe both have characteristics that fit that [location] well. They both enjoy defending, one-on-ones, and attacking. McCrorie plays that style down at Bristol, whereas Ralston has played at a high level. “I was leaning towards Ralston because he has experience and caps under his belt. However, there is a big game on Friday.
They may both be given time, and the winner will be determined by who performs best. It is a fantastic battle between the two of them.” Fellow ex-Ranger and co-pundit Kenny Miller says he believes Ralston has the advantage merely on experience, with eight caps to his record thus far. He stated, “I think before these two games, I would have put Ralston just ahead of McCrorie.” The fact is that he has caps.
He has previously played for the team and has spent more time with the group, therefore he is likely to be slightly ahead. “I’m interested to see what happens on Friday night. Whoever gets the nod, I expect them to receive the nod in that position as long as they do not have an utterly awful performance.
