"He's a proper Scottish football type. I've never seen Ali have a bad game for Canada. Certainly not in time. Never. He never dropped below an eight out of 10. He was always there, he always turned up. That's just his mindset. It's the habits that he's built into his character."

The words of former Canada international head coach John Herdman when he was asked to give his thoughts on Alistair Johnston.

He's right, you know. Johnston is a proper Scottish football type. He's never looked out of place in a Celtic jersey ever since he made his debut in a 2-2 draw at Ibrox in January 2023 under Ange Postecoglou.

It's been quite the football journey for Johnston:

*Five years ago he was turning out for NCAA side Wake Forest.

*Four years ago he played semi-professional for Vaughan.

*Three years ago he was drafted to play for Nashville in the MLS.

* Two years ago he was turning out for Montreal.

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At the weekend, Johnston captained Celtic for the first time in a game that he started in the absence of regular skipper Callum McGregor. Johnston as usual led by example and scored the second goal in a 3-0 Scottish Premiership win over Motherwell at Fir Park.  He was at it again on Wednesday night as he rode to the rescue of his teammates with the opening goal in the 2-0 win against Dundee. Both performances earned Johnston back-to-back man-of-the-match awards which saw the right-back net for the fourth time this season - three of those goals coming away from home - against St Mirren, Ross County and Motherwell.

Last weekend ex-Celtic striker Chris Sutton duly noted in the Sky Sports TV commentary box: "Really patient work from Celtic, going from side to side and looking for those little openings. You could see the run, perfectly timed by Alistair Johnston and he powers that header in.

"I think it’s a part of his game under Brendan Rodgers that he has really improved. Those forward runs. He ghosts in. And a bit of breathing space for Celtic. Terrific ball and a clean header.”

Celtic needn't have bothered that their natural leader McGregor was missing in Lanarkshire. Johnston grabbed the armband and slotted into the captain's role with consummate ease.

He opined: "I just wanted to lead by example on the pitch. I'm naturally a pretty big talker but it didn't put any extra pressure on me."

Those words would have been music to Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers's ears. It also capped off a brilliant week for Johnston and Celtic as the team kept two back-to-back clean sheets firstly in the Champions League against high-flying Atalanta in Bergamo and then against Motherwell at Fir Park and Dundee at Celtic Park.  Johnston was immense in all three matches.

You can read into Johnston's goal statistics what you will but his three strikes on his travels are more than the entire Rangers team have managed away from home this season. His movement to get on the end of left-back Alex Valle's 'Greg Tayloresque' cross against Motherwell was exquisite. The diving header was buried with aplomb. He took his chance against the Dark Blues when it came along like prime Kyogo Furuhashi as he made another superb run to stab Yang's centre home. It was an important goal as it got Celtic up and running against the Taysiders.

The significance wasn't lost on Rodgers who hailed Johnston as 'top-class' in the aftermath of the win.

Rodgers said: "He is a very important player for us. He's got the feeling of scoring goals now and he's hungry. He's top class and he is a real leader within this team. He Is very strong defensively. He is physically good and technically strong and tactically he understands the game. He is a tough boy mentally.

"He has been great and he has done fantastic for us. It was a really good goal Alistair scored as he is on the move when the ball comes across and he finishes it well."

Alongside German winger Nicolas Kuhn the duo have formed a formidable partnership down the right-hand side this season which has been pivotal hitting the top spot in the Scottish Premiership table as well as reaching the Scottish League Cup semi-final at Hampden Park against Aberdeen which takes place this weekend.

The 26-year-old took to Instagram in the aftermath of the victory against the Steelmen with a one-word message which read: 'Honoured'.

However, it was Canadian international teammate Kamal Miller who currently plies his trade with Portland Timbers in the MLS. Miller set tongues wagging with his cryptic reply to the post which was a one-word entry which said: 'Future'. It also contained a pair of eyes emoji. The Celtic fans lapped it all up.

Many Celtic supporters believe that Johnston is the heir apparent to McGregor's captaincy throne. It is all subjective, of course, but if the player stays at Celtic for a longer period then he certainly is a candidate of the highest calibre when McGregor does decide to pass on the baton.

Johnston gets it. He gets Celtic. He has from day one. It's largely why the Celtic supporters adore him. Johnston won the hearts and minds of the club's fans a long time ago. For some, the captain's armband may mean very little. Not for Johnston. He is not one of those people where the symbolism of representing a community and a cause that is Celtic is lost on him.

Johnston's Instagram social media one-word post tells you how he feels about being the skipper of a world-renowned football institution. The Canadian completely understands the gravitas that is associated with the job. Whilst he was not born into Celtic, Johnston can claim to have the club indelibly inked in his heart now. He is the epitome of everything good about Celtic both on and off the field.

(Image: Agency) Johnston's stock has been on the rise ever since he was named in the Copa America's best XI in the summer. He started all six games for Canada at the Copa América as they reached the semi-finals and claimed a superb fourth-place finish. He missed just half an hour of game time after being substituted in the second half of the third-place playoff which was a total of six appearances and 512 minutes played. Johnston was the only non-south American to feature in the Team of the Tournament which was no mean feat.

He was in esteemed company with the likes of Argentine legend Lionel Messi, Colombia superstar James Rodriguez, Lautaro Martinez, and Brazilian wide man Raphinha to name but a few. Johnston's response to that accolade was as classy as his displays on the field as he quipped: "My Spanish isn’t the best but it looks like a decent XI. Cheers."

The reaction was typical of Johnston. He is a wonderful orator in press conference situations, but he is always self-deprecatory and has never lost his sense of humour which is another endearing trait that Johnston possesses.

A treble winner in his first six months at Celtic, Johnston has lifted five out of the six domestic trophies available in his first two years at the club. He's not finished yet. He still has much more to accomplish as a Celtic player.

As John Herdman said: "That's just his mindset. It's the habits that he's built into his character." The biggest habit is that he's a serial winner.

Johnston still has three years of his current deal to run. It is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2027. The smart and prudent money would be on Johnston signing some sort of extension to his deal soon to safeguard both the player and the club in the future.

A future Celtic captain? Who knows?

One thing is for certain it will be the Celtic supporters who will vouch for the fact that Johnston chose to represent their club in the best way possible for the duration of his stay.

There's a word for that: 'Honoured'.