Alistair Johnston has been a regular at Celtic for several seasons now.
The Canadian international was another purchase of the dominant Ange Postecoglou era, where Celtic won the Treble, as well as signing some tremendous stars.
Johnston joined from MLS outfit CF Montréal, and since then, he has been a key figure at right-back, including last season under Brendan Rodgers.
Many of the Celtic Park faithful feel that the 26-year-old is captain material because of the way he conducts himself, and how he comes across in the media.
And he showcased that once again when talking with the OneSoccer YouTube channel in his home country of Canada.
- READ MORE: Celtic hero Alistair Johnston ‘elbowed’ in Canada’s ‘chaotic and farcical’ win vs El Salvador
Alistair Johnston on dealing with Celtic pressure
There aren’t many cities across the world or clubs that demand the pressure that Glasgow Celtic unleashes on its players.
Even though Johnston had heard about Glasgow being a ‘fish bowl’, he stated that it took him ‘six months to a year’ to get used to it all and how he also struggled with it.
The Celtic star shared that he then proceeded to see a ‘sports psychologist’, and that started to get the ball rolling towards a positive direction.
“It’s something I learned as I actually got to Celtic,” said Johnston about switching off in the 24/7 bubble of football in Glasgow.
“It was something you hear about. It’s a fish bowl. All these different things. You never truly feel it or grasp it until you are actually living it.
“I think, for about the first six months, to a year. I was just kind of taking everything in, and after that, it started to weigh on me, I could tell. Performances were lagging a little bit. I just felt I was a little overwhelmed, and I started speaking to a sports psychologist.
“They really helped me. It was actually through Canada. They really helped me with understanding, ‘okay, yeah, being out in public in Glasgow is really difficult. It’s taxing.’ And understanding that. Feel like you constantly need to put on a face, and understand, when you leave your front door, it’s going to be like that.
“Then, you need to have alternate ways to just completely decompress, and that’s when I decided I was going to move from a flat in the west end, and move out and get a house with a private garden, so we could have the dog running about and a bit more privacy.
“I am only famous in a 20-mile radius in Glasgow. I think that’s very clear. When I come back to Canada, you can walk around. My wife is from America, so we go down there, for example, in the summer.”
Johnston on it being a ‘relief’ when Celtic win
Johnston has picked up seven trophies at Celtic, and you can bet your bottom dollar that there are more to come.
But Celtic’s starting right-back admitted that it sometimes feels like a ‘relief’ when the team wins, but he has learnt to deal with it a lot better, even if the fans ‘boo’ you for ‘passing the ball backwards’.
“When you get to one of those clubs, sometimes, you don’t enjoy winning as much as you should,” admitted Johnston.
“It’s almost a relief that you have won. When things are going badly, it can feel like it’s the end of the world.
“I think how I have really realised that okay, you pass the ball backwards and the crowd is going to boo, but at the same time, as long as you are doing everything for a purpose, then you can tell them, ‘just calm down, bro. Okay, we are going to get through this’.”
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