Celtic’s Hampden Hero Was Kyogo, But The Best Performer Shows How Strong We Are.

Who was your man of the match on Sunday?

Kyogo? Hatate? Carter Vickers? Mooy? Maeda? Jota? Callum McGregor maybe? I liked the way Starfelt played and won every ball in the air. That neutered their entire playing style in the first half and well into the second.

None of them were my man of the match. I thought Alastair Johnston was extraordinary, and when you think about that, when you actually think about it properly, that’s an amazing and exciting thing for us.

Because what does it tell you about the strategy?

That it’s working. That it delivers.

That we’re not getting these players on luck, because let’s be honest no club is as lucky as our success rate in signings would suggest. There is no way that we’re bringing all these guys here on the whims of agents or scouts.

Alastair Johnston already looks like an upgrade on Juranovic, and perhaps a significant one. This kid made his debut at Ibrox. Within a month of signing he’s played against their club in a cup final with all the pressure that goes with that and he was outstanding.

We should now be watching Oh and Iwata to see if they are also as good as the players who have gone out. If they are, if they are anywhere near as good as the reports suggest, then I think we’re in a better place than perhaps any of us have ever seen Celtic, with a fully realised philosophy working hand in glove with a signing strategy that hits the jackpot.

When you consider how much we’ve squandered over the years – and how much the club across the city continues to piss up the wall – it is hard to believe what we’re watching; a transfer policy which results in nothing but strikes? It should be impossible.

But Alastair Johnston has fitted in so absolutely perfectly that you have to conclude that his signing is a masterstroke, and that we’ve brought in a player who is hungrier, fitter and more aggressive than Juranovic and even made a profit on the deal.

That’s beyond impressive, and this guy is already amongst my favourite players at the club and not just for his performances so far but because of his attitude and the way he has fully engaged with every aspect of life at a massive team.

He looks like he’s been there for years, and that means that it’s not just good players we’re identifying but the right kind of people … and that’s not even simply impressive.

That’s pretty damned near miraculous.