Alistair Johnston Lifts the Lid on His Unexpected Celtic Bow Which Caused a “Bit of tension”

Alistair Johnston has revealed the truth about his Celtic debut, admitting that he wasn’t even training with some of his new teammates before it.

The Canadian was handed a baptism of fire in the Glasgow derby at Ibrox and coped supremely, putting in an impressive first display in Hoops as his side drew 2-2.

He was signed from CF Montreal a few weeks prior amidst Josip Juranovic’s impending departure.

Just off the back of an eye-catching World Cup campaign with Canada, Johnston slotted nicely into the Celtic team and never looked back since his debut.

Twenty months after his Hoops bow, the 25-year-old has revealed how it was so unexpected and caused some tension among his new teaMMAtes.

“I didn’t think I was going to play”, he said (Footy Prime The Podcast).

“I hadn’t been training with the starting eleven the entire week, but the other full-back (Josip Juranovic) was kind of on the move.

“We trained; it was matchday minus one, and the gaffer (Ange Postecoglou) called me up to his office.

“He goes ‘Look mate, you’re going to start’.

“I go to the hotel, I’m a little jittery.

“We get into the dressing room, he (Postecoglou) announces the lineup, and no one knew that I was starting. Even the right-back didn’t know.

“I was like ‘Oh man, I’ve got to have a good Game now, this is a little bit of tension’.”

Although Johnston was nervous pre-match, he didn’t let that affect him in the Game.

His fellow right-back Juranovic was playing out of position at left-back, but the Canadian outshone him by miles on the day.

The defender’s debut performance at Ibrox truly kickstarted his Celtic career.

Johnston then went on to win a domestic treble in the five months following his Hoops bow as his new life in Glasgow got off to the perfect start.

A year and a half later, he is now one of the key figures in the Parkhead dressing room. The right-back is thriving under Brendan Rodgers and has made a sensational start to the 2024/25 campaign.