'We have is something that is really unique,' Alistair Johnston

The right-back is back on the grass and working towards a return to action in the second half of this month and that will be a huge boost for Brendan Rodgers and his Celtic side.

In a wide ranging interview on the club’s TV channel, Johnston talked about the multi-national flavour of the Celtic dressing room and how all the players coming from different corners of the globe, all blend together seamlessly.

“It is our biggest strength. I don’t think that would come as a surprise to anyone,” Alistair Johnston noted in his exclusive interview on Celtic TV this week.

“We have so many guys from so many different backgrounds, so many different cultures and countries. To see how everyone works together and that harmony that we have is something that is really unique.”

This in Johnston’s view is not what perhaps he’d have expected given previous experiences in football and it’s certainly a credit to those working at the club to have built this togetherness that Johnston reckons bodes well for the club’s ongoing success as he eyes his own return to action after suffering a hamstring injury in the ill-fated Champions League tie against Kairat Almaty.

“I’ve been in multiple different teams, different changing rooms and different iterations of teams, but to see this, it’s definitely something that bodes well. I think it’s only going to help us in the long run. It’ll be an exciting period here for our whole squad.”

“It’s a great opportunity for us, and I don’t think there’s any other way to look at it,” AJ said to Celtic TV as he looked forward to the remaining six Europa League matches with Celtic having just the one point from the two opening rounds of fixtures.  Johnston accepts that Celtic have yet to find top gear this season and admits that will have to happen as soon as possible.

“Of course, we would have loved to have been in the Champions League, but it didn’t happen. We’re in the Europa League, which again is another major European competition.

“We do have a sneaky confidence within our group that we can go out there if we put it together and play the way that we can, we can put together some really good results that can take us into the knockout rounds, ideally, and see where it goes from there.

“There’s definitely a confidence in this group, but we probably haven’t hit that top gear yet, so that’s something that we’re working towards.”

“It’s a great opportunity for us, and I don’t think there’s any other way to look at it, Of course, we would have loved to have been in the Champions League, but it didn’t happen. We’re in the Europa League, which again is another major European competition.

“We do have a sneaky confidence within our group that we can go out there if we put it together and play the way that we can, we can put together some really good results that can take us into the knockout rounds, ideally, and see where it goes from there.

“There’s definitely a confidence in this group, but we probably haven’t hit that top gear yet, so that’s something that we’re working towards.”

Celtic return to action a week today with a trip to Dens Park to take in Dundee. That’s followed by a midweek Europa League match at Celtic Park – in the later 8pm kick-off slot – against Austrian outfit Sturm Graz, who beat theRangers in their last game.

Then it’s a top of the table clash at Tynecastle against Hearts a fortnight today with October rounding off with a home match against Falkirk on Wednesday 29 October.

All winnable matches and that would set us up perfectly for November which is looking like a crucial month in the calendar for Celtic.

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