Alistair Johnston explains why he loves ‘smashing’ rivals after class Celtic tackle on John Lundstram

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New Celtic star Alistair Johnston loves nothing more than feeding off the energy of football crowds and getting stuck into tackles as a defender.

Johnston caught the eye of fans in the recent derby against Rangers, proving himself to be a tough competitor. One particularly good tackle took the ball alongside a hapless John Lundstram on the Ibrox touchline, who likes to think of himself as a bit of a hard man. It was a moment much enjoyed by many supporters.

Asked about his focused approach, Johnston was quick to point to his upbringing for preparing him for football’s physical side.

As quoted by The Scottish Daily Mail [06/01 print edition, page 82], the Bhoys defender said: “It’s different being a defender compared to an attacking player, where you are expected to go out there and create something and find a groove.

“As a defender, I can get into a game just by smashing someone, right up the back! It’s kind of in my upbringing as a Canadian where we played ice hockey half the year and the summer is football. It’s in our DNA to be physical and to work hard.

“For me as a defender, when you see that kind of crowd and that energy, there is nothing I want to do more than put a ball in the channel and absolutely get into a tackle. You can almost feed off that as a defender.

“I love to get physical, to go up and win it, win a challenge. It probably goes back to my ice hockey upbringing.”

Johnston has proven himself to be a brilliant personality already in his short time at Celtic, showing he has the outlook to rise to the challenge of succeeding at the Bhoys.

There’s a long way to go for him at the club, having just made his debut, but he has the chance to nail down a starting spot in Ange Postecoglou’s team with question marks surrounding Josip Juranovic’s future.

With this kind of attitude, no doubt he can earn a favourite status with fans. There’s nothing better than having a defender who relishes the art of defending and getting stuck into the battle of Scottish football.

In other news, Kyogo Furuhashi on his Ibrox goal reaction and more Japanese players joining Celtic.