Anthony Ralston enjoyed a Silent Night while Celtic pals partied at the Ally Pally

The Celtic squad went into Christmas party mode after the Premier Sports Cup triumph.

But it was more of a Silent Night for Anthony Ralston.

While the rest of the Hoops let their hair down – with a group enjoying a night at the darts – the defender was tucked up in bed preparing for his four-year-old daughter Mila’s nativity show the next morning.

Ralston was happy with Away in a Manager but now the celebrations have died down he wants Celtic to remain out of danger in the Premiership title race.

The 26-year-old said: “Aye, the majority of the boys did! I had my wee girl’s nursery nativity at 9am in the morning. I was watching her be a wee angel in her Christmas show. I cut my party short! But the lads took it in and enjoyed it, which is important you do in these moments in your career.

“She was smiling ear to ear when she saw me in the front row.

“Her and the rest of her class were brilliant, it was a really well put together show.

“I was buzzing with it. I tried to take her to Smyths for a wee toy afterwards but I think she was knackered!”

Ralston and his Parkhead pals know how she felt. They put in a lung-busting shift over two hours and penalty kicks to their hands on the League Cup trophy.

The full back – who came off the bench at Hampden early in the second half – said: “As long as we won the trophy, I wasn't really bothered about how you do it. Obviously it was a dramatic ending. It's about how much we wanted to win it in the end and we pushed right through to the end.

“When it comes down to penalties, Kasper (Schmeichel) did amazingly make the save, and the boys who stepped up and showed the courage to take the penalty and put them away, is ultimately how we won it.”

Ralston was too busy watching the show to