Alistair Johnston believes Celtic’s recent shock defeat by struggling St Johnstone was perhaps a required wake-up call ahead of their Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final clash at Hampden on Sunday.
The William Hill Premiership champions-elect were beaten 1-0 by the league’s bottom side at McDiarmid Park, after which manager Brendan Rodgers was far from happy.
They recovered at the weekend with a thumping 5-1 home win over Kilmarnock which means they will win their fourth successive title and their 13th in 14 years if they avoid defeat against Dundee United at Tannadice in the first game after the split.
First, though, is the chance to get to another Scottish Cup final, where they would face either Hearts or Aberdeen should they overcome Simo Valakari’s men.
🗣️ "I think it’s tough to look past Daizen. I think that goal record speaks for itself!"
🎙️ Alistair Johnston spoke to the media ahead of the launch of voting for Celtic’s Player of the Year awards.#CelticFC🍀
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) April 15, 2025
Looking back at the Perth defeat, the Canada full-back said: “It’s a reminder of why you play football. It’s not played on paper, it’s played on the football pitch for a reason, and at the end of the day anyone can win on any given day.
“So, yeah, it was a wake-up that if we don’t perform the way that we know we can and we should perform, that we can lose any football match domestically or on the continent, wherever you play.
“So that was definitely something that I think kind of was needed, an awakening, especially when you come into this final part of the season where there’s trophies on the line, that it was good for the whole group, just to refocus, and kind of light a fire under some guys as well.
“I think that we made some changes going into this weekend and you were reminded of some of the quality that we also have on the bench and that it isn’t just a set starting XI, we really do have a really good squad here and anyone that needs to step in can and will.
“So it just was a really good reminder to everyone that you have got to play the right way and you have got to give everything because these are good teams in this league and you can lose on any given match.
“This is going to be a massive match not only for us, but for St Johnstone as well, this is a cup semi-final.
“This is a chance to get to a cup final and everyone’s going to be looking at that and circling this is an opportunity.
“So we’re ready for that. It was a bit of a wake-up call for us, and I think we will be better for it.”
