New Celtic signing Alistair Johnston has shared that Cameron Carter-Vickers helped prepare him for the big atmosphere at Ibrox on Monday as he made his debut in the derby.
Johnston was given a starting berth against Rangers in his first-ever outing for the Bhoys – a tall order for any player.
He acquitted himself well on the right-hand side of the defence, often in combination with Carter-Vickers, who excelled as an individual in the 2-2 draw.
And before the match, the American international played a preparation role for Johnston, who talked up the mental strength needed to deal with such a ‘toxic’ atmosphere.
As quoted by The Scottish Daily Mail [06/01 print edition, page 83], the defender said: “I kind of knew what I was getting myself into. It’s funny, my mum was saying she wished she could have been there. I was like: ‘You know what, I’m not sure you’d want to have been at that one! I’m not sure I would let you go to that one. Maybe the next one at home!’
“Cameron Carter-Vickers told me just to be ready for that [the noise]. To understand that it doesn’t matter what you do, they are going to be booing you the entire time and cussing you out. Just get ready for it. And at the end of the day just enjoy it, because you will.
“The mental aspect of it is so important now. A lot of us have gotten very good at using that toxicity, I guess you could say, to our benefit. I like that, it fuels you, it gets you up for the game. And if you can’t get up for a match like that you have bigger issues. The guys were all great with me. I felt completely comfortable to just go out there and play my game.”
That will be one of the toughest domestic tests Johnston will face during his entire Celtic career, so the fact he dealt with it well is a really good sign he can be effective for the Bhoys.
It’s unclear whether he’ll start instead of Josip Juranovic against Kilmarnock tomorrow but I reckon Celtic fans would love to see him in action again, this time in a friendlier environment.
Paradise will be noisy tomorrow, but it’ll all be in support of the Canadian, rather than something to fight against. Hopefully, it can result in an even better showing.
In other news, Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou just gave the SFA an opportunity that can be beneficial to everyone.
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