McManus issues ‘big’ Alistair Johnston prediction after ‘incredible’ Celtic development
Alistair Johnston was “incredible” on his Celtic debut and fans should be excited about what he can bring to the club.
That’s according to former Hibernian striker Tam McManus, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the right-back’s first Hoops outing.
Johnston was in from the start as Celtic drew 2-2 with Rangers on Monday (2 January).
The 24-year-old joined the Parkhead club from CF Montreal this month for £3million amid speculation over the future of Josip Juranovic.
McManus was left impressed as Johnston was given a baptism of fire at Ibrox.
“I thought he did really well, he was very composed,” McManus told Football Insider‘s Ben Wild.
“He started the game very brightly and was impressive at both ends of the pitch, for me. It’s not easy to make your debut in an Old Firm game, especially as a Celtic player at Ibrox.
“He was up against Ryan Kent, who had a fantastic game, and I think he did alright. I think the reason Forrest played was so that he could help Johnston double up on Kent and that worked well at times.
“He can be really proud of his performance, to not get thrown by the atmosphere and look as composed as he did, incredible.
“The fans will be looking forward to seeing more of him over the rest of the season, he could be a big player for them and, of course, he might be getting a lot more game time if Juranovic does leave the club.”
Johnston impressed for Canada at the Qatar World Cup.
He started all three of his country’s group games as Canada suffered three losses.
In other news, McManus has backed Celtic’s response after the club suffers from a ‘shocking’ development.