NEVER give up. The mentality that has brought about the incredible turnaround in the Celtic career of Anthony Ralston.

Not even when the full-back was being frozen out of matchday squads as his contract ran down last season did he contemplate allowing his dream of making it at the club he loves slip away from him.

Instead, he worked as hard as he could day-in, day-out at Lennoxtown, and desperately hoped that he would one day get the opportunity to prove his worth at his boyhood club.

Now, with 21 appearances under his belt for Ange Postecoglou’s team this season already and a new three-year contract to boot, the 22-year-old has proven not only his ability to cut it at this level, but also the power of perseverance.

“I would never give up on playing here, and that was the case come the end of last season,” Ralston said.

“I was at the end of my contract, hadn’t been involved and wasn’t playing, so it wasn’t easy, definitely not.

“It was important that I kept myself right and kept working away from the pitch. Whenever I was doing my training sessions it was just about getting myself right so that if I did get my opportunity then I would be ready to take it.

“When I did get my opportunity at the beginning of the season, that definitely stood me in good stead.

“It wasn’t an easy time, but I’m glad I got through it, kept myself right, and now I’m getting the rewards.

“It’s just important that you don’t give up in those scenarios. It’s your career at the end of the day.

“Just at the right time I had my wee girl that came along, so that was something that kept me motivated to keep going and not to give up so that she can get the rewards from it.”

Many thought that another reward Ralston would receive for his fine form this season would be a call-up for the Steve Clarke’s latest Scotland squad, but he was again overlooked as Motherwell’s Stephen O’Donnell and Rangers youngster Nathan Patterson retained their places.

While disappointed though, Ralston is adopting the same attitude towards his international ambitions as he did to his quest to break into the Celtic side.

“I’ve said it before, it’s not my decision,” he said.

“It would obviously be an honour to represent my country, but my main priority is Celtic and to be playing here.

“All I can do is do the best I can for them, keep working hard and hopefully it will come eventually.

“It’s important that I just focus on Celtic. That’s where I play my football and that’s where I want to continue playing.

“It’s important that I just keep my own standards high, keep myself right, and hopefully I’ll get the honour of representing my country one day.”

In the meantime, Ralston is consoled – and moved - by the outpouring of joy and well wishes that came his way upon Celtic announcing his contract extension on Tuesday evening.

“I’m one of them myself, so it’s good to see that I’ve got the backing and the support of the fans,” he said.

“It means so much to me. It was quite overwhelming to see all that support coming through on social media.

“Everyone was congratulating me, saying ‘well done’ and that I deserved it, so that was great to see those messages coming through.

“It was a nice moment to read through them all and see all the positive reactions to the club putting out the news.

“I’m absolutely delighted and hopefully I can keep going in the right direction.”