Alistair Johnston has been blown away by the warm welcome he’s received from Celtic players and supporters. But then again, most places are a bit warmer than where he’s come from.
The Canada star feels right at home in Glasgow following his £3m move from Montreal but he can’t help but chuckle when his teammates moan about the weather. It might bitter cold out there for us, but it’s practically tropical compared to his homeland at this time of year and a touch of frost isn’t going to stop Celts from turning up the heat in all three domestic competitions over the next few weeks.
Johnston has impressed since his January switch and is hoping for another run out against Morton in the Scottish Cup on Saturday lunchtime. And he certainly won’t be whinging about the weather. Johnston said: “I’m sorted with a place to live. Moving across the Atlantic is a little difficult, but at the same time we’ve had a lot of guys from Japan who really are moving across the world, English isn’t their first language – it’s a lot more difficult for guys like that.
“English is my native tongue, even if when I speak to some Glaswegians it doesn’t sound like the same language! The people have been ultra-welcoming and you can see the passion in the streets where they are noticing you even with a cap pulled on and it’s 10 below zero and you’ve got a huge Parka on – they still know who you are.
“I’m on my own over here. My girlfriend has been visiting back and forth from the US. The winter in the south of the US is a little nicer than the Glasgow winter! But this is much better than the Montreal weather.
“Boys will be like 'there’s a little bit of frost on the pitch' and I’m like, 'it could be a lot worse, lads, there could be three feet of snow on it.' At Lennoxtown it gets pretty chilly but when the sun’s out it’s not too bad. I’ll take zero degrees over minus 30C!”
Johnston is not shivering at the prospect of a cup shock. The full back knows the dangers Morton can pose as massive underdogs – as it was a role he relished with Canada at the World Cup.
The Canucks had a go in their games against Belgium, Croatia and Morocco despite failing to get out of the group. But it taught Johnston not to underestimate any side. He said: “It’s an unbelievable opportunity for them, being in the division below you can come out and show what you’ve got, coming to Celtic Park in front of 60,000. What an opportunity that is.
“We understand that will be their mentality. When you’re in that situation, you have the mentality that there is nothing to lose and that anything is possible.
“I was living in those shoes just a few weeks ago with Canada when we were going into every single fight as the real underdog, but at the same time you have that confidence within the group that everything is possible if you believe in it. Morton are going to pose threats that we potentially haven’t seen over these past couple of matches but we’ll be ready for that. It’s another exciting time, another cup competition.”
Not that there’s much chance of Celtic taking it easy. Ange Postecoglou wouldn’t stand for it and every game has to be treated like it might be their last.
Johnston said: “It’s something that I was told to expect coming in. It doesn’t matter who you are playing against, it’s always another opportunity to put in a career-best performance. An opportunity to get better and better each game and keep pushing.
“It’s so enjoyable to step in here with the level of quality in the coaching staff and playing pool, it’s really special that each training is such high quality. Every single player in the squad, there’s a reason why they are here and you have to bring it every single day in training.
“Ange wants training to be as hard as the matches, so that when you get to the matches it almost feels like, ‘wow there’s so much space out there’.
“We’re relentless in that aspect that we are constantly forward moving, because we have very lofty ambitions at this club but at the same time we stay humble. No matter who is in front of us, we go out and perform, not just for ourselves but for our fanbase.”
Johnston has quickly bought into the Celtic mindset and the high levels of expectation – and he loves it. Johnston said: “This fanbase doesn’t just demand wins – they demand performances that get them out of their seats. They want to go home and tell their kids about what they saw so that their kids want to come to matches too.
“It’s that kind of passion and drive that this whole club has. It’s interwoven in the DNA of the club. We know that there is always another level to be unlocked, to be reached, and we’re always striving for that.”
Johnston can't afford to slack off as he is fighting with Josip Juranovic for the right back role, even with the Croatian expected to be on his way out. The Canadian ace said: “Josip is an unbelievable character. No matter what’s been going on behind the scenes, he’s a great guy. He has taken me under his wing which has been really nice of him.
“He’s been the ultimate professional. He comes in, works hard, trains unbelievably well. He’s another player I look up to, someone that I think I can take so much from and learn from. I’m not sure what the future holds for him, but we hope it’s here at Celtic.”
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