Alastair Johnston Looked Like He’d Been At Celtic For Years Yesterday.

Later on, I want to discuss whether or not the manager got the starting team selection right.

But for now, let’s look the performance of Alastair Johnston, our young right back, signed from Canada, who the boss trusted enough to hand the debut of debuts.

It’s got to have been a long time since a player who had just signed was thrust into the heat of one of these battles, but I have to say that the kid took to it like a duck to water. Not only was he completely unfazed by any element of the game, but he turned in a performance that was actually pretty disciplined and composed.

I thought he could have been in a better position for Kent’s equaliser, but as a stranger in a strange land, playing with guys he’s only just met, with the sound of the hateful Ibrox crowd ringing in his ears this kid performed way beyond what you might have expected from him. If anyone in our team was going to have a nightmare yesterday it ought to have been him … instead it was the World Cup semi-finalist playing on the other flank.

I think it’s fair to say that we’ve got a good one here.

The boy kept his composure, turned in a very decent display and then gave a great interview after the match where he still seemed to be buzzing about the opportunity he’d been given.

This is clearly a very good signing, and one Ange has a lot of faith in.

Giving a kid like this a debut in a match this big was a ballsy move – we can disagree with some of the other selections – and one that could have gone horribly wrong if the boy himself wasn’t up to snuff.

But Johnston handled it all very well. He looked like he’d been with us for years.

That’s a very, very good start to his Celtic career. Better things like ahead too.