Alistair Johnston

Again his delivery is top class.

 

Alistair Johnston lifts lid on Celtic blast off as Rangers displays earn right-back upgrade status
There is a parlour game Celtic fans are enjoying playing when they want to scramble the brains of like-minded supporters.





It takes the form of posing a simple question: when have you ever seen Alistair Johnston turn in a poor performance since his arrival in Scotland? Those that absolutely hate to be stumped on such matters will rack their brains. In reviewing the 24-year-old right-back’s 16 outings since his £3m move from CF Montreal at the turn of the year, they will weakly point out he wasn’t exceptional as Ange Postecoglou’s men overcame Kilmarnock 2-0 at home in the second week in January. Before giving up. As is required for such a poser with Johnston proving such a bulwark in three encounters against Rangers - the first the new year derby draw at Ibrox that marked his debut - the Canadian is now lauded as even an upgrade on the man he has effectively replaced in Josip Juranovic. Even when the Croatian, a crucial contributor in his country’s progress to the World Cup semi-final last December, proved such a darling of the Celtic faithful for 18 months he spent in Glasgow before he was moved on to Union Berlin in a £7.5m transfer as a consequence of Johnston’s arrival and instant impact.

Mention of those Qatar finals brings a neat symmetry to what the garrulous and engaging young man pinpoints as having allowed him not simply to hit the ground running but blooter it and then career along at mounting hyperdrive. There cannot be many newbies to the Scottish game that will have racked-up 15 straight wins after a draw in their first outing within these borders. But then Johnston considers he was oven-ready for the white-hot environment into which he was pitched in through playing every minute for his country in the Gulf that meant he had to measure up against some of the finest footballers on the planet as Canada were far from disgraced in losing to Croatia, Belgium and Morroco




Coming straight from a World Cup doesn't hurt,” he said of his stellar first three-and-a-half months in Celtic colours, adorned by his exhilarating displays in the Viaplay Cup final win over the club’s Ibrox rivals seven weeks ago and the recent home derby league win. “You play in three of the biggest matches of your life right there. That was my country's second time ever being in a World Cup. Everything we'd gone through as a nation qualifying to just get to the World Cup was so difficult then to finally make it and play against some massive nations on the world stage was something that mentally prepared me for what I was about to experience with Celtic and especially with those matches against Rangers.




At the end of the day, it's football. It's still 11 v 11, the pitch is the same size and the ball is still round, so nothing changes. Once you learn to block out that noise and get through the first couple of minutes, the emotions, the energy, then it kind of dies down, everything goes quiet for you, then you can just focus on your football. I've got a lot better at that with age so I'm happy that my first couple of matches of this magnitude was when I was 24-years-old and not 18, so I've got a lot of respect for those young guys that get in there and get thrown to the wolves.”

It has helped that Johnston has joined the team that are the snarling, teeth-baring, limb-tearing predators in a domain over which they are lording it. It has placed them within six league wins of posting an all-time highest points total - 109 - for a European top flight. Johnston, ordinarily a man with his own mind, is very much on-message with the club line when it comes to passing the three figures for points…and in the process elcipsing the Celtic’s hauls of 103, under Martin O’Neill in 2001-02, and the 106 Scottish record figure amassed by Brendan Rodgers’ treble-winning invincibles in 2016-17.




We haven't really discussed that at all,” he said. “It's just been about the next match and how we can get better. One of the interesting parts of our squad is that it is so deep that we are also competing against each other just to be on the pitch in the next match so we have to be so focused on each day at training, just honing in on that stuff, then focusing on the weekend and picking up three points. At the end of the day we know if we take care of business and we play the way we know we can, the results will be a byproduct of that. Of course, if we do that for the remaining part of the season then we have a chance to really break some new ground and set some history. That's exciting but at the same time we're just so focused on each day. Taking the baby steps one step a time and wherever it takes us, it does.”

Celtic already know one destination they are headed. With a 12 point cinch Premiership lead It is now merely a matter of when they will seal the title. Victory at home to Motherwell on Saturday would put them within one win of confirming their champion status. Johnston doesn’t seem fussed their title triumph will be sealed sooner rather than later. Understandable since before the first post-split fixture in the first week in May they have the small matter of a Scottish Cup semi-final on April 30 against a Michael Beale side that have presented their sternest tests. A confrontation upon which their hopes of a domestic honours clean sweep will stand or fall.




We just know that if we take care of business it's all in our hands now,” Johnston said. “That's what this group has done so well since the beginning of the year to make sure that they got that lead and not looked to relinquish it at all. I was lucky I came in and there was a nine point gap and we've just been focused on taking care of business week in, week out. We know if we do that we don't have to worry about anyone else. Again, that would be a nice feeling, but we're not going to get ahead of ourselves. There's still plenty of football to be played. Everyone in the league knows that as well. At the same time, I like our spot. I like where we are as a squad and we've still got a couple of guys to come back from injury to really help push over the line. We're in a good place and we're into the final stretch now.”

 

The rise of Celtic star Alistair Johnston charted by former coaches




There is a distinct theme emerging from first encounters with Alistair Johnston.





Even with continents between them, a first video call was enough for Ange Postecoglou to turn to his staff and declare: ‘He’ll do for me.’

Five years earlier, Wake Forest University coach Bobby Muuss made the 700-mile trip from North Carolina to Toronto on the advice of a friend, all to get a closer look at a teenage centre midfielder looking for somewhere new to play his football.

It was not a wasted journey



The kid was running around like a lunatic,” Muuss recalls. “He covered so much ground in the centre of the park. But we didn’t need a centre midfielder, and that was his main role. He’d played four or five positions with other teams but he himself believed he was a centre midfielder.

“He had attributes: he works hard, covers ground, and is fit as a fiddle. I told him he was a kind of pivoter – he never used his left foot! He would run around in circles to get it onto his right foot and would take too many touches.

“But after speaking to him – and we still joke about this today – I said: ‘Here’s the deal: I don’t know if we need you, but we want you.’

“I think if anyone speaks to Alistair, they’re then like: ‘OK, I want this guy around’.”

First impressions are very much Johnston’s forte, it seems. They are irretrievable things, not least in this chronically knee-* corner of the football world. An unfavourable one at Ibrox on his Celtic debut could have spelled danger for this 23-year-old Canadian who had never kicked a ball in Europe, and who rapidly found himself incurring the wrath of 50,000 Rangers fans after he left John Lundstram lying in an unflattering heap.

Simply surviving a derby baptism would be enough for most, and from an outsider’s perspective, it felt like a risk for Postecoglou to expose him to it so quickly. Johnston, however, emerged with a man of the match award before delivering a strikingly self-assured post-match interview which revealed why his manager was not in the slightest bit worried about him.



We should have known, mind you, when the player’s first meeting with the media included the line: ‘As a defender I can get into a game just by smashing someone.’ He is unmistakably Canadian, but that was a soundbite plucked straight from the streets of Glasgow.

Across the Atlantic, though, there are plenty who always knew he would fit right in on the big stage.

Born in Vancouver to Canadian and Northern Irish parents, Johnston discovered the football at age four when his family decanted to Montreal. He was to find his way back eventually, but from there it was on to Ontario to sow the first seeds of a professional career, interwoven with a brief but formative foray into ice-hockey.

After playing semi-professionally for Vaughan SC, where he would return intermittently during close seasons in the US, Johnston entered the American college football system at St John’s University in Queens, New York.




Head coach Dr David Masur was instantly struck by this bundle of energy.

“When he was younger, he was probably a little more exuberant, but you knew he always had it,” said Masur. “He was exuberant to try things, always wanted to do well. He was 18 when he was with me, really good at learning and growing with experience.


As he grows as a player, he takes a little bit of everywhere he goes and puts it into improving himself. He earns confidence through hard work, preparation and having some success.

“You can see that in him, and I think he knows that personality is a big part of him becoming a successful player. Alistair got As in everything, he was a dedicated student, a dedicated athlete.

“He’s a smart kid. His high IQ and determination to do things right are the reason he keeps growing and becoming this high-level international player now.”

Masur soon discovered he could call upon Johnston to cover just about any role required, and he would embrace it.

“I remember him being able to press centre-backs from right midfield, make them edgy and help us win the ball,” he said. “If we were in trouble, he could even win flick-ons to help us get out. He could even drop in and play number 10.

“There are not many who have both the mentality and athletic ability. He’s certainly in the top three or four guys I’ve ever had, and I’ve been here 33 years.”

Eager for a bigger challenge, Johnston traversed to North Carolina and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in 2019 after his conversations with Muuss, a place previously home to Dundee United’s Ian Harkes and Leeds United’s Jack Harrison.



He had started all 36 matches at St John’s, but some patience was required here as he rubbed shoulders with older players. Johnston’s former coach at Vaughan, Patrice Gheisar, had previously told Muuss: ‘He could be a pro as a right-back




That stuck in his new manager’s mind, and so the transition began.

“He was like a sponge,” Muuss said. “And the rest is history. We lost in what we call the final four of the college cup, and I looked at him walking from the locker room to the coach and said: ‘My man, that performance right there… you just became a really high first-round MLS draft pick.’

“He looked at me with surprise; he wasn’t even thinking about the draft, he was thinking about winning For a kid playing in America nowadays, the draft is all they think about. A lot don’t care about winning or being a pro.”

Muuss and Johnston did plenty of winning by the time he departed two seasons later, and their relationship endured even after the freshly moulded right-back made the jump to the MLS, firstly with Nashville and then to CF Montreal. Muuss is now desperate to bring his family to Celtic Park for the final home game of the season, one that will almost certainly be a title celebration.


It is striking how effusive he is in discussing his former player, and the conversation is as much about Alistair Johnston the person as it is Alistair Johnston the footballer.

“When he was at Montreal last year, there was some national team stuff and he was in Florida pre-season and he got Covid,” Muuss remembered. “I think he’s still allowed to be a Manchester United fan, so I’m allowed to tell you this. I’m a Liverpool fan, they were playing each other, and he Facetimed me with about six minutes left in the game.




It was strange because Liverpool were winning, and normally he only FaceTimes to talk s**t. He loves to jab, oh my gosh. He’s always pressing buttons and giving it out.

“The game was almost over so I said ‘I’ll call you back’. I went for a walk and called back, and he was just going and going and going.

“Eventually I just went: ‘What’s up? What do you need?’ Because he obviously felt weird about asking whatever it was.

“He said: ‘Well, I had Covid and I can’t go to our [CONCACAF] Champions League game in Mexico, but they want me to find somewhere to train. Can I come train with you?’

“He came for a week last winter. Any time you can possibly have him around young, aspiring players – or even older ones – he makes them better.

“I tell you that story because he was here a week, and you want to hang out with him: he’s in the office, talking to the young guys about their game, going over body positions for receiving the ball, he just loves the game, and he loves people.

“That’s the impact he has. My kids, who are seven and eight, they watch him play and I want him around them, that’s the type of character he is.

“When you talk to him now, he’s the same person as when he came here. His value of the dollar is exactly the same, in that he still thinks 20 dollars is a lot of money.

“I think that’s awesome, he hasn’t changed a bit.”




Muuss suspects those attributes stem from the Johnston’s being ‘a family of winners’. His mother is a fitness coach, and brother Malcolm was drafted to New York City in the MLS earlier this year.

Johnston, of course, arrived in Glasgow straight from the Qatar World Cup with Canada after Celtic paid Montreal £3m for his services. It did not take long for the word ‘bargain’ to commence being thrown around.

And it is obvious he is enjoying Celtic as much as Celtic are enjoying him. ‘He’s having the time of his life’ according to Muuss, who regularly fields calls from people declaring how much they ‘love seeing Ali in the Hoops’.

With another dynamic display, Johnston added a second derby man of the match award to his cabinet, playing a key role in a win that was not only effective confirmation of the title, but of his rapidly growing cult hero status.

That old coach-student dynamic, however, never really goes away.


We spoke about the Rangers game,” said Muus. “Someone sneaked him at the back post and I blamed him. He said: ‘No, look at it, that’s not my fault!’ And I said: ‘Well, aesthetically, it looks like you!’

“I like busting his balls over stuff like that, because he does the same to me. He’ll text me after a loss!

“The way the club, the Celtic fans have embraced him – how can you not thrive in that environment? Maybe people were like ‘what are we doing bringing in this guy from North America?’

“It’s the way he embraced them, and they embraced him. It’s been pretty seamless.

“People might have said ‘he won’t understand Celtic vs Rangers’, but nothing frazzles him. He would have been excited.

“It would have been a ‘pinch me’ moment, a kid from Canada playing in that derby. You’re always cheering for your guys, and I just want him to flourish.”

 

Thought he was really poor today. Lots of space, but consistently hit the first man.

 

Yeah he's put together a strong, strong run of form. But today he was off it like most. Nothing came off for him and didn't see enough quality with his crosses.

 

Hit the first man every time. Pretty shocking crossing really, other than that first one he fizzed across the box, but played a lot of games though.

 

Aye he was very safe..

Don't think the wingers particularly helped the fullbacks. All our wide men were a letdown today..

It didn't work..

 

Him and Haksaw are dead ducks going forwards. That was shown last week.

I'd put today down to needing a rest, too many games, but thought he was pretty awful, bar a pass or two. Had tons of space today and did nothing with it.

 

I blame Haksabanovic more though..

Johnston has been very good for me..

Haksabanovic looked extremely uncomfortable out wide right. No for the first time either. Can't go by his man. Can't go inside his man from there. Was getting wee flukey bobbles off their defenders and that was it. Was painful to watch how often it went wrong for him today..

 

Fair enough, thought Hacksaw was awful, but thought Johnston wasn't far behind him.

Absolutely no attacking pressure down his side. Had plenty of great positions and space going forward but did nothing more than hit his crosses off the first man.

 

The movement around him was poor. Number of times O'Riley and Haksabanovic were on the edge of the box and got in each others way..

I actually thought Johnston used the space better when Mooy came on and started picking up those wee spaces..

 

Don't agree, thought he got worse/less involved as the game progressed, but think that's partly down to him playing a lot of games.

Pretty much played wally attempting to cross against the first defender at every opportunity, even when there were a lot of other options. Really * me off as it was constant and unneeded. That's 2 games in a row the right hand side hasn't contributed anything. Not that thats just Johnston.

He's been a great signing but needs a rest/competition.

 

Very poor today, we all have our off days. Looked a bit tired at times, I’m sure he’ll be back to his best against the huns. He’s been a great signing.

 

Overall, poor yesterday, woeful crossing, clearly missing Jota

 

I hope he's alright..

Was fantastic first half and has Kent in his pocket..

 

Looks a bad one. He was excellent before he came off

 

He's better than me on crutches already.
Was great until he had to go off hope it's not too serious.

 

* sick if he's out of final, he was a rock again today.

 

The silver lining is that there isn't a title race to be had any more. He'll have a good long rest, hopefully not more than a month.