Alistair Johnston says he had Rangers marked on his diary ever since he knew of his Celtic switch - and he's just delighted his dream turned into reality.
Ange Postecoglou thrust in his new recruit at right-back from MLS side Montreal for a fiery debut away at Rangers, the Premiership champions drawing 2-2 at Ibrox. It's helped them maintain a nine-point gap at the top of the league after a 2-0 win at home to Kilmarnock and Johnston says it was the derby fixture he had pinpointed ahead of becoming the club's second winter signing.
The 24-year-old Canadian international wanted to do everything he could to make it and answering fans queries on a Q&A hosted by Celtic on Twitter, says the match did not disappoint. He explained: "I was over the moon with it. It’s a match I’ve had circled on my calendar since I knew I was signing. It’s the first one that could have been my debut so I wanted to do everything possible to make sure I was available and in contention."
There has been a problem for Johnston since his arrival in Glasgow - the accent. But despite that, Greg Taylor has been on hand to help with the dialect problems arising at Lennoxtown. The club's new number two explained: “When two Glaswegians start talking it’s really difficult and I just say ‘Aye’ to it and get away with that! So far, Greg Taylor has been my translator but he’s also the hardest one to understand!”
It's been an easy adjustment to life in Glasgow for Johnston, who's been left in no doubt over his favourite place. His new place of weekend work is an obvious choice for top spot. He added: “It’s been simple and straight forward. Everyone has been very welcoming – the staff, players, and people in the city, they’ve made it as simple a transition as possible. It’s got to be Celtic Park (his favourite place in Glasgow). I’ve been able to go and watch a few matches, and now I've played in one – the atmosphere there has been second to none.”
