Alistair Johnston has conceded that Celtic are going through a rough patch in form, similar to the Canadian national team.
It comes after Rangers defeated Brendan Rodgers' men 3-2 at Parkhead last week thanks to goals from Nicolas Raskin, Mohamed Diomande and Hamza Igamane.
It was a forgettable afternoon at the office for Celtic and Johnston, who slipped in the lead-up to Igamane's late winner before squandering a golden opportunity in the dying embers of stoppage time to make it 3-3.
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Despite an all-round poor day at the office last Sunday, Johnston is enjoying one of the best campaigns of his career to date: "It has been a great season for me," he told One Soccer.
"I don't think there is any doubts about that, in terms of the number of matches I've played, some of the matches that I have played at the very highest level against Bayern Munich - seeing my team match up with them, it does bring a lot of pride to myself and my family back home, realising that I do belong on that field with them (in the Champions League).
"But, there has obviously been some ups and downs - it's not always perfect. I have done a good job as I have gotten older to not really get caught up in the highs and the lows.
"So, even when the results aren't as good as you would necessarily like - and it has been exactly that with Celtic over the last month.
"It hasn't been as easy as the start of the season. We are going through that patch and it's the same with the national team."
The right-back is currently on international duty and played 90 minutes as Canada were beaten by Mexico in the semi-final of the CONCACAF Nations League A Championship on Friday.
He accused referee Hector Martinez of continually trying to give him his marching orders: "It's not always going to be easy," he said.
"The ref in that first half felt like he wanted to send me off at any possible moment but you just have to get through that.
"That is something I have learned and matured on the pitch, and off the pitch, in dealing with that kind of stuff."
