Right ok, before anyone even asks, yes I do know there are other players in the Celtic team and no I don’t have an unhealthy obsession with Alistair Johnston.
It just so happens that he is the man of the moment and he is the subject of a lot of coverage.
The Canadian right-back has been lauded (and quite rightly so) for his performances so far for Celtic since his debut in January.
And after his man-of-the-match performance against Rangers, he has been stealing all the headlines over the last few days.
Johnston is another one of Ange Postecoglou’s signings that no one really knew much about. The Celtic manager seemed to pluck him out of nowhere but his rise to Celtic stardom has not surprised former Celtic winger, Steve Guppy.
Guppy is the assistant manager of MLS side Nashville SC and on The Celtic View podcast, reveals how Johnston got his big break in the US at the club, “We drafted him in the college, as they do over here in the US, this college draft thing is very important.
“And of course, because we were a new franchise we were quite high up in the draft picks.
“So there was a lot of research that went into looking to get the best players out of college and in Alistair and we managed to do that. So that was pretty cool. I’d love to take the credit for that.
“But sadly, I can’t because I was over in England when they were deciding on who the college draft was.
“So that goes to Mike Jacobs, our general manager and Gary Smith, of course, who is the head coach.
“They will be the ones who were more behind the recruitment of Alistair. But once he arrived here that’s really where mine and Alistair’s story really kicks off.”
Guppy developed a special bond with Johnston and goes on to tell how he helped him develop a ‘weapon’ that he believes helped the Celtic star earn a call-up to the Canadian national team, “He’s a very good one v one defender and also just a good all-round fit
“He can play centre half, right back, wingback. So he’s very good at that.
“But moving forward, we wanted to try and help him create a bit of a weapon.
“And in his right foot crosses were was something that he really took to very, very quickly.
“And I’m hoping, I’ve not seen much footage from Celtic Park, but I’m hoping that he’s really showing that his right foot crossing ability is actually very good.
“And so that gave him that weapon where it makes him stand out from others. And I think that’s what got him into the Canadian national team.
“On his debut or second game, he put in a great cross to the far post for the forward to score and I think that really helped him claim his place in that Canadian squad.”
Guppy also reveals on the podcast how Johnston never let his standards slip during the COVID outbreak and how he stayed committed to keeping his training intensity high and used the time to constantly develop his game.
There is no doubt that it has paid off as he enjoys the adulation of the fans for his performances for Celtic.
With less than a season under his belt, the Celtic fans can look forward to next year with excitement to see how Johnston can help bring his aggression and passion to the club’s next Champions League campaign.
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