Celtic right back Alistair Johnston has stood out since joining the club from Montreal in the winter window.
The Canadian has been consistent in his performances throughout his time in Glasgow thus far and was yet again man of the match as the Hoops tasted bitter sweet Glasgow derby victory on Saturday.
Johnston has kept Anthony Ralston firmly out of the team (granted the Scot has endured some injury issues) over the past few months and ex Celtic winger Steve Guppy has been full of praise for the Canadian.
Guppy was key in helping to draft Johnston to MLS side Nashville when the right back first started out and has compared the 24 year old’s crossing ability to that of David Beckham’s (Daily Record):
“Too many players hit the first defender when they cross. And then don’t actually think about the reasons why. That was something we tried to install in Alistair.
“Alistair is not really one who will take a player on but if you give him time he’s very similar to David Beckham.”
To be compared to an immense talent such as Beckham is immense for Johnston however it has taken a fair amount of work for the Canadian to be where he is today.
Guppy coached Johnston through Covid lockdown and has revealed the graft the defender put in during it:
“Obviously we had to go through Covid and on my phone I’ve got lots of videos he sent me of him on his own down the local park, crossing balls. Then we would go about critiquing them and offering advice.”
A lot of Johnston’s previous efforts have gone unnoticed yet they have got him where he is today and Guppy is not astounded at this:
“So he’s gone from strength to strength and found himself at a massive club like Celtic. I guess we shouldn’t be that surprised.”
Undoubtedly, the acquisition of Johnston at Celtic has been vastly prosperous.
The Canadian has come in and been a more than ample option for Ange Posteoglou at right back and this latest praise from Steve Guppy comes as no surprise.
