THE QUALITY of Celtic’s strips may have been poor, but the players donning them were anything but.

Anthony Ralston’s socks delayed the kick-off by a matter of minutes on Thursday night and well, to be honest, it did look like he had been dragged through a hedge backwards with the state of them. Evidently, that new contract this week took priority over new socks.

Ralston no longer needs to be singled out when he performs well, or the timeline would be full of 'The Bricky'. Yet another stellar performance ensued against Ferencvaros, he was robust at the back and rampant going forward.

My personal highlight from Ralston’s showreel was his positioning deep in extra time, familiarising himself with Giorgos Giakoumakis in the home side’s corner, running down the clock. Get back in that defence, you madman!

The week belongs to the right-back. He’s silenced many with his contract extension and no one is happier than me. I have been seen digging up tweets from January and February, where I stuck my head above the parapet and called for his inclusion ahead of Jonjoe Kenny.

But here I am pledging another call, one that many of us have made, one that many will continue to make…

Sign. Up. Jota.

I don’t know how many more Jota-orientated columns my editor will allow me but, until I’m told otherwise, they’re going to keep coming.

The message is simple, the piece could be ended here. But then again, we all want more content fixated around the proficient Portuguese to indulge ourselves in, don’t we? So here we go again.

A routine move in the social media era, the digital age of football, is swiftly checking out linked players' YouTube reels. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t impressed by Jota’s but I think many of us will admit we erred on the side of caution. Every moment he spends in a Hoops kit, one scoots further away from any motion of discretion.

READ MORE: Celtic look to avoid Conference call as they slay ghosts of Budapest - Tony Haggerty

A five or 10-minute package can be misleading. Debates are held on whether such clips are a help or hindrance. But, with each game, all I can think of is how long will Jota’s showreel be at the end of the season to include every warranted trick, move or goal?

If the campaign ended tomorrow, it’d be a fantastic show. One that would grab the eye of any football-minded soul. And in that lies a worry… I don’t want others to see his brilliance until he is Celtic’s.

It is unfathomable to imagine Jota slipping through the club’s fingers. They have a gifted player on their hands. Furthermore, they have what appears to be a happy player on their hands.

The performance in Hungary was another exuberant instalment from the 'new Three Amigos'. The catalogue of buoyant, vigorous, zestful stories had a new edition added on Thursday night. All of those claims were verified in Jota’s post-match interview. His enthusiasm, devotion and passion to the cause are all palpable - as he said, they’re starting to become a real "family".

Family sticks together, and so must the new Three Amigos. Otherwise it’ll be like Christmas when your favourite cousin is absent - the dynamic just isn’t there.

European football after Christmas is now ensured and so just a few more things remain on the wishlist: for Jota to stay and for Ralston to get new socks.