Alistair Johnston revels in Rangers ‘against them’ win as Celtic hero laps up ‘chasm’

Grinning Alistair Johnston says it was special moving 12 points clear at the top of the Premiership - especially when it's against 'them.'

The Celtic right-back was named man of the match against Rangers as they extended their gap at the top to an unassailable distance with just seven games to go. He's been a seamless replacement for Josip Juranovic since his arrival from Montreal and has already made himself a hero to the Parkhead support with a string of impressive defensive performances.

He was picking up his man of the match awards in the hospitality suite and he sparked a round of applause when he appeared to take a cheeky pop at rivals Rangers by refusing to name them. In footage shared on Twitter by fan @dacardle, Johnston said: "We always make it difficult on ourselves don't we? But at the same time, it's three points. The support was unbelievable, you guys willed us across that line, so that was really important. To go 12 points clear was really special - especially against them!"

Johnston was then asked if he's looking forward to doing it all again on April 30 at Hampden and responded: "That's the plan isn't it? Back to Hampden, we're excited for that. We're just building on it week in, week out, and we just know that if we play our football and stick to what we do, no-one can touch us. That's a really nice feeling."

The event's compere then pointed out that the league is wrapped up even if Ange Postecoglou won't admit that much just yet And when informed 'It's not a gap, it's a chasm!' a grinning Johnston replied: "No comment."

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