Celtic debutant Alistair Johnston has insisted he wouldn’t have wanted his first appearance for the club to have been anything other than a tough test, after helping the Bhoys to a 2-2 draw at Ibrox.
Johnston put in a creditable shift against Rangers, especially in a vibrant first half when he looked to impact the match at both ends of the pitch.
He was undoubtedly one of the performers with pass marks today and didn’t deserve to be on a losing side, which must have made Kyogo’s equaliser particularly pleasing for him. Posting on Instagram after the match, he said: “Baptism of fire. Wouldn’t want it any other way. We go again.”
His former teammate in Montreal, and Celtic favourite, Victor Wanyama was clearly impressed too, responding with a simple set of emojis in the replies: “🔥🔥🔥👊🏾”
Ange Postecoglou giving him a start today showed a lot of faith in his ability. He must have also been applying himself well in training during his first few weeks.
Johnston still has a long road ahead of him at the Bhoys. He needs to cement his place in the team and also find consistency week to week to truly be considered a successful signing.
But the initial showing certainly bodes well and is something that can be built upon moving forward. If Josip Juranovic ends up leaving, he’ll have a great chance of getting a lot of minutes between now and the end of the season.
Initially, I don’t think any Celtic fan would begrudge him the chance to feature in the starting line-up at home to Kilmarnock this Saturday.
If he can show up well at Paradise, it would solidify these good first impressions.
In other news, “That just killed the season”; BBC Sportsound pundit thinks Celtic just ended Rangers challenge.
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