Full Media Conference — Alistair Johnston looks ahead to #CELHEA (15/05/26)

[0:00] Alistair, a straight title shootout between the top two and the final day. [0:03] Just sum up what that's like to be a part of. [0:06] Yeah, it's something that I don't think happens too often. [0:09] Obviously, leagues can come down to the final day, [0:10] but the fact that it's the two teams playing each other as well [0:14] makes it extra special. [0:16] I mean, I've seen some pretty good atmospheres at Celtic Park, [0:19] and I have a feeling this one's going to rival some of the best nights. [0:22] So, yeah, I think we're all really excited for it. [0:24] It's great in terms of the fact that both teams know exactly [0:26] what they need out of the game. [0:27] We know we need to go and win the match, [0:28] which I think makes it really clear for us. [0:31] And, yeah, I think we're all just ready to get it going already. [0:34] How much better do you feel heading into it with the late penalty the other night [0:38] and how that changes the arithmetic for you? [0:40] Yeah, I think that if we didn't get that, [0:43] obviously we knew we were still going to need to win the match [0:44] in terms of what the goal difference would have been. [0:47] It would have obviously made it a slightly different match. [0:51] Yeah, look, this just means that you go out there, [0:54] you can win by one goal, you can win by three, [0:56] you win the title, it doesn't really matter. [0:57] And I think that that just makes things, you know, [0:59] obviously simpler and easier for us. [1:01] But at the same time is that we were confident, whatever it was, [1:04] as long as we had a chance going into that last game, [1:05] that, you know, we could, you know, come out with a title. [1:08] I think that we would have, you know, shooken your hand for that a month ago. [1:11] So the fact that we're here now and we know that you just need to win the match, [1:14] yeah, it's a great situation to be in. [1:16] How much of an advantage does it feel to have that momentum, [1:20] the home advantage, the fact you only need to win, [1:22] versus maybe the pressure and expectation that that can also bring? [1:26] Yeah, look, I think that everyone at this club is used to having pressure. [1:30] So that's not something that, you know, we're too bothered with. [1:34] I think that we're all looking at it as the glass kind of half full. [1:38] You know what I mean? [1:38] Is it where we've been this season, you know, [1:41] all the different paths that we've taken, [1:43] all the different obstacles that have come and gone, [1:45] to the fact that it's coming down to, you know, match day 38, [1:48] the last one of the season, at home, crowds fully behind us. [1:51] We've got a good, you know, run of form here. [1:53] And you just, you're told, hey, look, go and win a match. [1:56] At the end of the day, if you can go and do that, you can win a title. [1:58] I think that that's something that, you know, again, as I said earlier, [2:03] if you told us that a month ago, we would have shook your hand for that. [2:06] So it's a great opportunity. [2:08] It's one that we also know that whatever happens, [2:10] same with that Rangers match last week, you know, you concede an early goal. [2:13] It doesn't matter. [2:13] You need to win the match. [2:14] Go find a way. [2:15] You've got time. [2:15] So whatever happens in the game, we just know we've got to play [2:18] until that final whistle, as we did it against Motherwell. [2:19] And, you know, ideally, you know, find a way to get three points on the board [2:23] and, you know, enjoy the summer after that. [2:25] What do you describe this season as a whole? [2:26] Um, I've been trying to call it like four seasons in one. [2:31] Um, it's been the longest and shortest season all at the same time [2:36] in terms of there's been so many different storylines [2:38] and things that have happened. [2:40] But for me on a personal level, it's also been a really short season [2:43] because I barely played. [2:43] You know, I've been injured for so long. [2:45] So it's been a really just a strange, strange season. [2:48] But at the same time is that, you know, we're coming into this now [2:50] the final week with a chance to, if you win both matches, [2:53] um, you know, you can, you can leave here with, with two trophies. [2:56] And that's something that, you know, didn't always look potentially possible [2:59] a couple of months back. [3:00] But the lads have dug in, found a way to dig out results, [3:03] especially here in this last, uh, you know, this last month. [3:06] Um, and we've really been treating every single match like a cup final. [3:09] We've known that if we drop points at any point, [3:11] we're probably going to take ourselves out of it. [3:13] Um, so it's been amazing just to see the resilience in the group [3:15] just to find a way to get results. [3:16] Quite a few already after the penalty call during the week. [3:19] What did you make of it? [3:21] Honestly, I didn't really see it. [3:22] I was on the bench at that point. [3:23] Uh, we couldn't really tell what happened. [3:25] If Trussie had gotten hit, it was just kind of an awkward coming together. [3:28] Obviously then when he goes over to VAR, you're not 100% sure what, [3:31] what was the call. [3:32] Um, I saw it after it's, it's one of those ones that, yeah, [3:36] if it's happening against you, are you thrilled? [3:38] No. [3:38] But at the same time, you know, hand isn't kind of a weird spot. [3:42] Um, you know, you leave it up to interpretation. [3:45] We're just lucky at the end of the day that, you know, [3:47] it was on our side for a change. [3:48] You know, sometimes through the course of a season, [3:50] you're going to have VAR calls that go for you. [3:51] You're going to have ones that go against you. [3:52] It's just the name of the game. [3:54] Um, and luckily for us, it went for us. [3:56] But that being said, Colette, you still have to step up and put it away. [3:58] Um, and talk about a pressurized situation. [4:01] He's come, he's come through for us now on a couple of big occasions [4:04] in these past couple of weeks. [4:05] So, um, I was glad I wasn't taking that pen. [4:07] Let's just say that. [4:08] Um, and I was really, really happy when I saw it hit the back of the net. [4:11] And so were all those Celtic fans in the stand behind the goal. [4:14] What did you make of the reaction to it on social media, [4:16] on radio shows and what have you? [4:18] Yeah, if you get caught up in that, [4:20] then you're going to go down a pretty dark rabbit hole, I think, there. [4:23] Um, every single decision up here in Scotland, [4:26] I think, gets magnified to a whole another degree when it comes to us. [4:30] Um, so now, look, it's, it is what it is. [4:32] No matter what people say on social media or what they don't say, [4:34] it's not going to change what's happened. [4:35] So we just kind of look, all right, that's happened Wednesday night. [4:39] We got to get ready for a, you know, a title decider on Saturday afternoon. [4:42] If you get, you know, if you go down those rabbit holes, okay. [4:45] But it's not going to change the fact that we need to win, um, [4:48] on Saturday at 1230. [4:50] And that's kind of where our minds are. [4:51] You mentioned a couple of times you obviously were injured for a lot of this period. [4:56] You missed a lot when times weren't great at the club. [4:59] Were there points where you maybe thought that this was just not Celtic season, [5:04] things were just getting away from you, [5:05] and you thought that days like Saturday might never actually come? [5:08] Uh, it's hard not to think that when you realize you look at the table. [5:12] Um, but at the same time, I look at this squad, we're not naive either. [5:18] We know how good and, you know, how expensive our team is to a degree, um, [5:22] in comparison to this league. [5:23] And we always knew that, hey, you give us a chance. [5:26] There's still plenty of, there's still plenty of matches to go. [5:28] Um, that, you know, if we could just string some results together, [5:32] we'll see what the other teams are made of. [5:34] And, you know, it took us a while to get really going, [5:37] but we found a way to, you know, hit a rhythm here. [5:39] And especially this last month, you know, we're, we're, [5:43] it's just been quite a few wins on the trot now for us. [5:45] And we're just trying to keep that momentum going at the same time. [5:48] Yeah, it's, it's, it's great that we're in this, bless you. [5:51] It's great that we're in this position. [5:53] Did I think, you know, it was going to be the case? [5:56] I was hoping it. [5:57] Was I guaranteed of it? [5:59] If you'd asked me that in January, February, no. [6:01] Um, but I don't think anyone was, you know, feeling exactly confident, [6:04] but at the same time, we know the quality that we have in this group. [6:07] And I'm just glad that we've, we've managed to figure it out [6:09] and get ourselves this position. [6:11] You mentioned a few roar over certain refereeing decisions. [6:14] I think there was one or two, one you sent off for a tackle against the Rangers. [6:20] What did you make of that? [6:21] And what was going through your mind when that challenge was made, [6:23] when you got the yellow and what came after? [6:26] Yeah. [6:26] I mean, it's, again, as a defender now, you know, [6:29] you got to be so smart with every tackle you put in. [6:31] Was I a little bit lucky? [6:32] Yeah, probably. [6:34] When you slow it down, again, I'm going to win the ball. [6:36] Of course, if you're going to take the man, you want to get the man as well. [6:40] Was I intending to, you know, injure him? [6:42] No. [6:43] I'm just trying to put a hard tackle in as every single fan on both sides of that, [6:46] that rivalry would want their, their defenders to do. [6:49] And yeah, I caught him. [6:50] I, I thought in the moment I caught him on the top of the foot. [6:54] Um, I wasn't a hundred percent sure what the VAR was going to look like. [6:57] Turns out it sounded like they didn't have the replay. [7:00] Um, that might've been a bit more conclusive that I should have been sent off. [7:05] This and that, it is what it is. [7:06] I thought in the moment, yeah, yellow card's probably fair. [7:09] If it was 10 years ago, I would have said, how is that even a foul? [7:12] Um, but that's just the day and age now. [7:14] Um, yeah, at the end of the day, am I lucky that I got sent off? [7:16] Probably. [7:17] Um, but it's football. [7:19] You need to be able to make tackles. [7:21] And, um, yeah, I'm glad that I stayed on the pitch [7:23] and I'm glad that we managed to win that match as well. [7:26] You talk about treating every game like a cup final. [7:29] Does this just have a specific cup final feel about it? [7:32] And that's exactly how you're going to approach it. [7:35] Yeah. [7:35] I mean, when you look at it and you just know exactly it's, it's when you win the trophy [7:39] and a draw or a loss and you don't, I think it makes it pretty binary and crystal clear [7:44] what needs to be done, um, which is great for this group. [7:46] And again, you know, as you go through the season, you're constantly kind of trying to figure out, [7:50] okay, what are the permutations? [7:52] What do things look like? [7:53] What are results? [7:53] What results do you need? [7:54] And it's nice once you just get to the end and you just know, okay, it's in your hands [7:58] and this is what you need to do in order to get it across the line. [8:00] So to get it to this point, um, yeah, it adds extra pressure to a degree in terms of, [8:06] yeah, we haven't often come down to the very last day, uh, to need a title, uh, to win a title. [8:10] But at the same time, that's what you kind of come to a club like this for. [8:14] You know, we've played in tons of cup finals. [8:16] Um, and that's what this is to us. [8:17] So it's a, it's a massive opportunity. [8:20] Um, and again, I'm just looking forward to, you know, feeling the atmosphere. [8:23] I think it's going to be a pretty special one, um, inside Celtic Park and hopefully we can [8:27] get it across the line.