Alistair Johnston has revealed how his time at Celtic has helped transform him into a leader both for club and country, as he takes on a more prominent role with the Canada national team.
Speaking while on international duty, the 25-year-old right-back reflected on his journey from being one of the younger squad members to becoming a key figure in the dressing room.
Johnston has now earned 53 caps for his country and credits his experiences at Celtic for helping him develop the leadership credentials he now brings back to Canada.
He said: [RecordSport] “You start to just kind of go on the natural progression where you come in, you’re the young guy, you’re just really happy to be there, you’re taking it all in and all of a sudden you get some more caps in your belt and before you know it you’re looking and you’re like, oh, this is a new player, how old is he? Oh, he was born in 2007. You’re like, okay, wait, I’m old now. And you realise that people are now looking up to you. I’ve got 53 caps for example.
“I really enjoy being part of a leadership group that has a strong voice with our coaching staff and with the entire player pool of how we want to run things over there.
The right-back is dubbed by many as Celtic’s future captain. He has hinted that he doesn’t have plans for moving on in the near future, saying he can’t take his Scottish dog away from his home.
“Jesse Marsh (Canada boss) has really empowered a couple of us guys and it’s something that I’ve really enjoyed and I think that I’ve brought that back to Celtic as well – trying to help Callum McGregor and the other older guys in any way possible.
“It’s an unbelievable time to be given that opportunity and that kind of license to take a bigger role because we’re going into a home World Cup.
“I’m lucky enough that my career even aligns with that. It’s a really exciting time to be a Canadian footballer, I’m just kind of living the dream.”
He did have a poor derby match, by his standards, but he’s a consistent performer in the Celtic dressing room, and has become increasingly vocal in recent times which is always good to see.
Johnston’s leadership qualities have been evident in his performances for Celtic since joining in 2022. He’ll be hoping to show that when he plays in the World Cup for the third time in the country’s history, when Canada, USA and Mexico host the tournament.
