Alistair Johnston quips Celtic kit is to blame for blotch on perfect record as star jokes bring back 'the hoops'

Alistair Johnston's perfect starting record went in the bin in Rotterdam – along with Celtic’s funky third kit they wore on the night.

The Hoops full-back wasn’t having the top but he admitted he did like the look of Liam Scales against Feyenoord. January signing Johnston has been a lucky charm for Celts and Tuesday’s painful 2-0 Champions League loss was the first time he went down in a match he has started. The Canadian looked right at home at the elite level but the Parkhead men lost their shape in the second period after Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm saw red.

Johnston admitted it was sore seeing his impressive run hitting the buffers but he’s ready to go again. He joked: “I think it’s the kit. It has to be the green and white hoops, I might have to bin that green one! But that’s the Champions League for you. Yes, that is a bit frustrating to lose that record. That is my first loss. But it was going to happen at some point, so hopefully we can bounce back and start another streak.”

The kit might divide opinion but the performance of Scales was a sight for sore eyes. The Irishman’s displays haven’t gone unnoticed by his team-mates, with the defender stepping into the defensive injury crisis and grabbing his chance with both hands.

Scales looked set for the exit on the back of his loan spell at Aberdeen last season but the crock woe for Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh has catapulted him into the first team. While £3m Lagerbielke has looked shaky and loan signing Nat Phillips is struggling for fitness, Scales has emerged as an unlikely hero.

Johnston said: “For sure. We had a really difficult spell a couple of weeks back when it just felt like centre-halves were dropping like flies. But