Ange Postecoglou might have been the manager that brought Alistair Johnston over to Europe to play his football at Celic but it’s Brendan Rodgers and John Kennedy that the Canadian International has credited with unlocking his game to find the best form of his career…
Speaking about the current Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers at today’s media conference Johnston was in no doubt where the credit should go for his own development.
“Oh, he’s been great in terms of when I came in. Obviously, I came in under Ange, brought in to invert, and I kind of hit the ground running a little bit, but was still kind of starry-eyed a little bit, okay, just trying to find my place.
‘He kind of really unlocked me’
“And when he (Brendan) came in, he kind of really unlocked me in terms of he wanted me to be that full-back that bombed up and down and not only was a shutdown kind of defender, but also got up the park and was constantly overlapping.
‘They’ve really kind of fine-tuned my game and brought me into probably my finest form that I’ve ever been in’
“He saw that I had the ability to do that and he kind of really unlocked that between him and the help of John Kennedy. They’ve really kind of fine-tuned my game and brought me into probably my finest form that I’ve ever been in, especially I think that was probably the start of the season.
“So look, he’s been great for me. There’s no doubt about that and I’ve really enjoyed playing under him and hopefully that’ll continue for a long, long time.”
The hot topic of Brendan’s future beyond the end of next season
The increasingly hot topic is Brendan’s own future at the club beyond next season, his third and final one of his three year contract that he’s 150% guaranteed to honour. Will he stay beyond that or will he regard the three years with a respectable troop haul and progress in the Champions League as a fitting way to correct the way things sat around his first exit from the club?
We should know this summer. Meanwhile everyone is having their say, including Alistair Johnston.
‘He’s a manager that you love to play for’
“Yeah, no, look, the gaffer’s been great since he’s walked in the door. I think his résumé speaks for itself in terms of not only his time here, but his time in England. Yeah, I mean, he’s a winner. It’s as simple as that. He’s a manager that you love to play for.
“So obviously, that’s definitely above my pay grade, those kind of decisions. So I think at the end of the day, it’ll come down to what the gaffer wants. I think that he’s proven time and time again what a top manager he is and how much he loves this club and how much he loves being here for the fans.
“So, look, I think that’ll be a decision between him and the club, but hopefully, yeah, there’s something that can keep him here for the long term. But I do believe he still has one more year left after this. No matter what, I know he’ll be here next year and that’s something that I think all of our fans and all the players are excited about.”
Here’s Alistair Johnston’s mainstream media conference from today…
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