Brendan Rodgers blown away by ‘tough’ Celtic hero who was ‘very important’ in Parkhead win vs Dundee

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Celtic fans can enjoy the rest of the week and look forward to Saturday’s League Cup semi-final with Aberdeen knowing that they remain at the top of the league nine points ahead of Rangers.

The Hoops beat Dundee 2-0 at Celtic Park after goals from Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels sealed the three points for Brendan Rodgers.

Now nine points clear of Rangers who lost at Aberdeen last night, Rodgers’ Celtic are firmly in the driving seat at the top of the Scottish Premiership table.

The Celtic boss was over the moon with the result but reserved some special praise for one Celtic player who is a ‘real leader within this team’.

Rodgers’ special praise for ‘top class’ Celtic hero Alistair Johnston

Alistair Johnston has been in some fine form this season and was rewarded against Motherwell as he was handed the Celtic captain’s armband.

And as he came off the bench to make an instant impact in the Dundee win, Rodgers waxed lyrical about the Canadian post-match.

Rodgers told BBC Radio Scotland, “ Yeah. He’s a very, very important player for us. He’s got the feeling now scoring goals, so he’s hungry and up there, but he’s top class.

“He’s a real leader within this team. He’s very strong, defensively, physically good, technically, strong, totally, tactically, understands the game, and he’s a tough boy mentally, but he’s been great.

“He’s done fantastic for us, but also a good chance to get Tony [Ralston] some minutes as well, and then that allows Alistair to come in and yeah, it was a really good goal because he’s on the move in the box and finishes it well.”

Alistair Johnston’s impressive Celtic stats this season

Alistair Johnston has been excellent for Celtic since he joined the club in January of 2022. With seven medals to his name, the Canadian is really enjoying his time in Paradise.

But this season, Johnston seems to have kicked on a notch under Brendan Rodgers and looking at his Celtic stats so far, the 26-year-old has been impressive.

Now contributing to Celtic’s attack and defence, Johnston is proving to be a very effective weapon Rodgers’ arsenal as the Hoops look to defend their title and make progress in the Champions League this season.