Alistair Johnston

Ali Johnson drinking game.

Take a shot every time he says "again" after saying something for the first time

 

Celtic defender's shock at FIFA honour as messages had him 'fearing the worst


When news broke that Alistair Johnston had been named alongside the likes of Ruben Dias and Antonio Rudiger on the long list of defenders in contention to be included in the FIFA ‘Best XI’, it was a heart stopping moment for the Celtic defender in more ways than one.

Initially, he was rather mystified and more than a little alarmed as he woke to a deluge of messages from his family back home in Canada, fearing that something horrible must have happened.


Thankfully, that turned out not to be the case, but while the news was in fact very good, he remained rather mystified by it, nonetheless.

The modest full back is over the moon though to have been included alongside such stellar company, a recognition for his fine form for both club and country over the past 12 months. Even if he may have appreciated a little heads' up ahead of the news breaking.

“I just woke up and I had a couple of messages from people that don't normally message me,” Johnston said.

“My aunts, uncles. I thought what in the world's going on? I thought something had happened. And obviously you think the worst, you're waking up and you click on a photo and you see, oh, you're on a long list for the Best Eleven. And you're like, okay, well that was...the heartbeat slowed down a little bit there because I was actually fearing the worst

My aunts, uncles. I thought what in the world's going on? I thought something had happened. And obviously you think the worst, you're waking up and you click on a photo and you see, oh, you're on a long list for the Best Eleven. And you're like, okay, well that was...the heartbeat slowed down a little bit there because I was actually fearing the worst


But no, it's a weird thing. You would think that maybe they'd call your agent and pass it through the grapevine a little bit. But no, it's right on the social media. And that's how you kind of find out. It's funny. It's a great accolade.

“It was something I wasn't expecting, but obviously a pleasant surprise. You look at the list of players that are on that, it's a pretty special list.

“To think that I'm even a name that was even thought of for that was obviously a nice honour for myself. You don't really play for the personal awards. Obviously, we always play for the trophies in the team aspect.


That's one that I think is more important for my dad and my family back home. He'll be probably dropping that one in on trivia night at the pub. So, it's good that he'll have that one in the back pocket.

“But yeah, it was a pretty cool thing to wake up to one morning to see that. It was a very good calendar year for myself. Both off the field and on the field. So no, it is nice to get some recognition for that.

“But at the same time, I’m not really too worried about those kind of things. We're just focused on, again, the next match, lifting up trophies here. Those kind of things go hand in hand.


It's what I've learned since I've been here. And you just focus on doing the little things, doing the little things right and being a good professional. Then, yeah, you might end up falling into a list like that somehow.

“So, it was a nice little touch.”

Celtic and Johnston kick off a massive week with a home match against Hibernian today before a trip to face Dinamo Zagreb in a crucial Champions League tie, before the League Cup final against Rangers next weekend.

“Every week's a big week here, it feels like,” he said.

“Hibs, not going to be an easy test at Celtic Park, we're ready for a tough game. They've obviously had an uptick in form since they got back from the international break and we're expecting to see a couple of different things and we're looking forward to that challenge.


“And then after that, Zagreb away, another massive Champions League match where we have a chance to put some, hopefully, points on the board which would take us one step closer to the knockout stage.

“And then obviously after that, a cup final, a chance for a trophy, which is why you come to Celtic to play in matches like that.

“So yeah, it is a big week


Johnston is especially looking forward to locking horns with international teammate Junior Hoilett this afternoon, particularly as he has something of a score to settle with the attacker.

“He's an unbelievable footballer,” he said


Obviously he doesn't maybe have the legs that he used to have from five years ago, but in tight spaces he's a joyous footballer.

“And he gave me a right doing in the cup semi-final against Aberdeen last year! So he hasn't let me live that one down and I haven't forgotten that one either. But no, he's a top player and always whenever we play small-sided at national team he's one of the first picks.

“He's so good in his space. So he's someone that we're going to have to really be aware of, especially if they play in between the lines, which we might see.

“So yeah, we're expecting a good match

 

I can't imagine playing Ralston against the huns :/
Hope AJ is fine

 

Hopefully he’s okay for Sunday

 

Johnston did what in the game that made any difference or was positive?

Ralston had mistakes but also had 2 good interceptions and created our best opportunity. Given he's had the least minutes of those on the pitch is that not a bit harsh?

 

Hope he's fit for Sunday, the difference between him and Ralston is massive.

 

Would be a massive loss for Sunday. Big Tony is fine but AJ is just a different level.

 

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has provided a positive update on Alistair Johnston’s condition after he came off as a substitute in the Bhoys’ goalless draw with Dinamo Zagreb this evening.

The right-back went down injured after a nasty collision in the opening 45. He was resultantly withdrawn at the break, raising several concerns among supporters

With a crucial Premier Sports Cup final against Rangers on the horizon this Sunday, fans were fearful Johnston might be sidelined, especially after he looked particularly gutted sitting on the bench

Hoops boss Rodgers, however, provided an encouraging update on the Canadian’s fitness after tonight’s game, reckoning he could play this weekend.

He said (BBC): “It was his hip flex, nothing muscular, which is good. He was just feeling a bit of pain. At halftime, there was no need to risk that.

“All being well, that’ll settle down in the next couple of days.”

 

Good news he should be ok.

 

Happy about that. But it says a lot qbout which game is considered more important! Sunday, otherwise they would have risked hip staying on.

 

Good news.

We need Johnston for Sunday. He always gets stuck right into them.

 

How are you?

It was just an awkward one. We’ll do some tests on it and hopefully it’s nothing too serious. We’ll kind of take it day by day.

It’s just a weird one and I was glad I could make it to half time. But I think it was the right decision to put Tony out there and get us through the 90 minutes.



Was it more precautionary to take you off or did you feel you had to come off?

I got through the rest of the first half, but I didn’t feel a hundred per cent. So, it was a bit of both. And Tony’s more than capable and a very good player. So it made sense for him to come on. I didn’t want to do any more damage potentially. We’re not really sure what’s going on with it, so we’ll just get home and have a look at it


Is there a concern for the upcoming cup final vs Rangers?

We’ll see. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious and we’ll be back out on the training pitch and get ready to go for Sunday.

You’ll give it absolutely everything to be ready?

Of course I will. It’s a match that’s circled on the calendar, it’s a match I want to be a part of. It’s a chance to lift a trophy, a big match. So, yes, Sunday’s not far away but at the same time there’s just enough of a break where I feel like…listen, we’ll see how it goes and hopefully I’ll be ready for it.


You have an impressive medal collection at Celtic already, you want to carry that on...

Exactly. There are plenty of reasons for wanting to be ready, firing and fit for that Sunday one. We’ll see how the flight goes, and see how tomorrow goes. We’ll take it day by day, hour by hour.

What kind of shape is the team in approaching Hampden?

I think we’re in good shape. Injuries, knock on wood, I think we’ve been quite lucky this year. Again, this was a difficult game, for us to go to Zagreb and get a clean sheet. It’s a difficult place to play. The crowd was good even though they were quite far back. We lacked a little bit of cutting edge in the final third.

Nil nil, I think anybody who watched it would feel it was a fair result. At the same time, we do feel good, we’re fit and we’ve been really strong domestically. This is the first opportunity to go and lift a trophy – it’s something all of the lads are ready to go for.



How does it feel to get nine points so far in the Champions League?

It’s something to build on and in the Champions League, every point matters. And away from home, if you can pick up a point it’s important.

All these grounds are difficult to go to. We’re going to look back on it, it wasn’t our best performance by any stretch of the imagination.

But at the same time, we went out there, kept a clean sheet and limited them to just a few chances. Again, it’s something to build on.

Nine points after six games, I don’t think anybody would be looking back on that with too much regret. If you’d told the guys that at the beginning of the season, we’d be on this tally by this stage, a lot of our fans and ourselves would be happy with that.

But there are still more points to be gained. We’re looking at the positives and there;’s still two matches to add to our points tally



Is it a good sign to be disappointed at just a point from an away match in the Champions League?

It’s a great sign. Since I’ve been here, it’s one of the big things I was told, that there was a desire to make big strides in Europe. To think now, we’re coming to away matches – it doesn’t matter the team – and we’re a little disappointed with a draw, that’s a sign of how far we’ve come.

There are still levels to come. We know there’s the quality in this team to have gone out and found a winner.

It wasn’t our night. The important thing when you’re struggling a little bit in the final third, you don’t give up anything defensively. And I think we did a really good job with that


Are you confident the team will turn up again at Hampden when it matters?

It's a game that everyone looks forward to, it’s games like these everyone wants – to compete for trophies, and finals at Hampden. It’s where you want to be. It will be a great match and everyone's excited for it.

It’s the first trophy of the season and we’d love to add it to our collection and really kick start and end this calendar year on a high note.

It would set us up well for the remaining sprint we’ve got through this Christmas period we’ve got and into the second half of the season.