Alistair Johnston was just one of a number of players who stepped it up a gear when we hammered Hibernian 4-1 on Wednesday night at Celtic Park. The team flourished once again, after Brendan Rodgers made several changes to a side that was unrecognisable against St Johnstone for forty-five minutes at the weekend.
The recovery was impressive and the pressing and intensity was back in our play with a handful of players really hitting the heights again following that dramatic intervention by the manager at McDiarmid Park. Rodgers openly fumed and vented after the match about the performance in the first-half and accused some of his players of being too comfortable.
Many wondered who that was aimed at exactly and former Hibs and St Mirren defender, Stephen McGinn, has made an intriguing supposition into who that might have been.
Speaking to The Go Radio Football Show, the brother of Scotland and Aston Villa star John, said: “Alistair Johnston has been a really good signing for Celtic but the way he was performing last night I was thinking ‘has he been one of the ones playing in a comfort zone? Because I watched him last night and thought ‘you’ve gone up a few gears here’, some of the balls he put into the box, the way he approached the game.”
In reality, it could have been any one of the eleven men that were on the field that day in Perth. The team was culpable individually and collectively for that dreadful performance against a side that has been struggling badly this season in the Scottish Premiership.
It was an episode that was highly forgettable and regrettable as Brendan Rodgers lost his cool for probably the very first time in both his stints as Hoops boss. The gaffer has asked his team not to make him react like that ever again and they certainly gave him a response midweek against Hibs. It’s about keeping that momentum and determination now going forward.
Paul Gillespie
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I am of the opinion that AJ has had a fairly average season so far, I noticed that about a month ago and feel he did need a rocket quickly up his backside.