Alistair Johnston says what was ‘wild’ about the Celtic fans in his debut vs Rangers at Ibrox

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Alistair Johnston has been an excellent signing for Celtic ever since Ange Postecoglou brought him to the club in 2022.

The Celtic defender was signed from MLS side CF Montreal for £3m and since then has made 62 appearances for the club.

Alistair Johnston has played against the likes of Real Madrid in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu and Lazio in the Stadio Olimpico in the Champions League but it was what the Celtic fans did in his debut against Rangers at Ibrox that really blew the Canadian away.

750 ‘wild’ Celtic fans at Ibrox

Making a debut for a club like Celtic is nerve-wracking enough but to do it against your biggest rivals in a packed Ibrox is on another level and Johnston admits that the supporters that day were incredible.

Johnston said [FourFourTwo print edition page 5], “I hadn’t expected to play, but injuries meant Ange Postecoglou called me up and told me to enjoy it.

“I’ll never forget that noise, walking out of the tunnel. We scored a late equaliser and the roar from our fans – it was one of the last Old Firms with away fans – was wild.

“About 750 of them blew the roof off Ibrox. If you can play in that match and handle the emotions, you can play anywhere in the world.”

Johnston was excellent in the 2-2 draw at Ibrox. That performance really impressed the Celtic fans and convinced them that an unknown Canadian from the MLS had what it took to play for the Parkhead club.

An able replacement for Josip Juranovic, Johnston went on to win the treble that season after his January move and he has since become a real favourite amongst the Celtic support.

Now off the back of a very impressive Copa America campaign where the Celtic defender made the semi-finals, Johnston will be looking forward to the new season ahead where he will look to defend the title and represent the club once again in the Champions League.