"Celtic Park is going to be rocking. Now it's up to us," AJ

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Q: How difficult was it to kind of get yourself together after that mistake after three minutes?

Alistair Johnston: “Well, we conceded another one, so apparently not too well, but no, I think that that’s where that growth that we touched on has come in over this league phase, is that we’ve understood, okay, you know what? Yeah, it was similar to Dortmund, we conceded two early ones, that one we kind of let it snowball and get out of, you know, get out of control.

Jacob Ramsey runs with the ball from Alistair Johnston during the UEFA Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

“Instead there, we decided, okay, let’s stiffen it up a little bit at the back, you know, just keep our heads, make some passes, get our crowd back into it, and all of a sudden you can find your footing, and I think that that’s something that Adam Idah either brings to us as well as the ability to, yeah, okay, you know what, there’s space in behind, let’s use him, let’s use his frame, his running ability to go hold the ball up and, you know, create some difficulties for them defensively, you know, give them something to think about, and I think that that’s something, again, that we’ve learned.

Adam Idah scores Celtic’s second goal past Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa during the UEFA Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

We’re giving the game what it needs a bit more than maybe we had been previously, and I think that’s a really strong side of the growth that we’ve had as a group there, mentally as well.”