Celtic’s Alistair Johnston has opened up about the intense rivalry that exists in Glasgow, a city where football is not just a sport but a way of life, and where the expectations and demands from the fans are sky-high.

The Canadian international, who has become a crucial part of Celtic’s lineup, shared his experiences and insights into the unique football culture in Glasgow and how it contrasts with his experiences in North America.

He jokingly admitted that he couldn’t show his face in public if Celtic had a bad result at the weekend.

Appearing on the Morning Footy Show on CBS Sports, Johnston talked about a number of things, like playing under Brendan and Ange, as well as the issues his country’s national team is facing.

While talking about the rivalry in Glasgow, AJ said:

“It’s just such a demand and expectation and, again, with a city that has such a passionate fan base, you’re going to hear about it if you’re not living up to standards.

“And especially when you share the city with your biggest rivals, if you drop any points, you don’t really want to show your face in the grocery store that next couple of days.

“So it’s kind of funny how that works, and that was something that I needed to learn as well, where you share a city with your rivals versus when I was in Montreal, our closest rival would be Toronto, which is a six-hour drive, so it’s a little bit different in that way. And I’ve really enjoyed that aspect of it too, but it’s a learning process for sure.”

Johnston quickly became a fan favourite when he arrived in Glasgow, and has three trophies to his name already, although he does credit his teammates for the hard work they put in before he arrived in December for this.