CELTIC have lost their lead in the title race.
But Alistair Johnston has revealed how he regularly holds on to one to help switch off from their high-octane fight with Rangers.
The Hoops have been in the dog house too many times for their liking this season.
1
But right-back Johnston says the critics who claim there is trouble in Paradise are barking up the wrong tree.
He is comfortable when it comes to not getting involved in the hysteria away from the park, though, preferring to take his black Labrador, Salem, for long walks instead.
Asked how he manages to avoid getting caught up in the Glasgow goldfish bowl, Johnston, 25, said: “Me? I don’t find it difficult.
“If you are on the social media platforms you will maybe get a bit of it, but a lot of us don’t really read that stuff.
“You just keep doing what you do in your normal life. All of us have hobbies outside of football, so we just stick to that.
“I have a dog, a black lab called Salem, so I walk the dog and do things like that.
“The days pass and you can just focus on other things and not get too wound up about a title race. I have other things in my life.”
Johnston has become a mainstay of the Hoops side since joining just over a year ago when Ange Postecoglou was still in the hotseat.
The Canadian international has eased seamlessly into the side, meaning the man he replaced, Josip Juranovic, has barely been missed.
Johnston has quickly grasped what it means to play for the Hoops and already has one league winner’s medal in his locker.
But for some of the more recent new faces, the ding-dong tussle of an Old Firm title run-in will be a whole new ball game.
Norwich loan signing Adam Idah recently spoke about learning to come to terms with the fact a draw at Aberdeen wasn’t good enough.
There are plenty of others in Brendan Rodgers’ group who haven’t been over the course before, but Johnston reckons that’s where he and his more experienced team-mates have come in.
He said: “It is not always easy, especially for the new guys coming in.
“They maybe haven’t felt this kind of pressure before and the scrutiny from living in a city that is this football mad.
“The older guys are here for them through this kind of period. We just kind of block out the noise.
“All that really matters is what is in that changing room and that is what’s going to take us to the title or not.
“It comes down to that. It’s down to us, it’s in our control. There’s nothing more to add.”
Johnston reckons any talk of Celts’ squad being disjointed is nowhere close to the truth.
Skipper Callum McGregor is facing an extended spell on the sidelines with calf and Achilles issues, while Cameron Carter-Vickers is easing himself back into things following his latest injury.
The likes of Reo Hatate and Maik Nawrocki are crocked, while Liel Abada is on the brink of a move to MLS side Charlotte FC after Rodgers admitted the winger was not in the right frame of mind to play amid his native Israel’s war with Hamas.
Keeper Joe Hart, 36, has also announced he will hang up his gloves at the end of the season.
But he and CCV will take on greater responsibility while McGregor is out.
Johnston said: “That’s interesting. I haven’t heard the disjointed part.
“But the locker room is really together again. We have great leaders.
“We have guys like Cal and Joe and James Forrest, who have played in difficult run-ins and lifted all kinds of trophies.
“There are quite a few guys in that locker room who won it last year and who understand what it takes to win.
“So I think there is that confidence and that self- belief there, for sure.
“With it being Joe’s last year, we want to send him off right, so there are things like that.”
Johnston will link up with Canada for a winner-takes-all shootout with Trinidad and Tobago in Texas on March 23, with a place in this summer’s Copa America finals at stake.
He has already won 39 caps for the Canucks and played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Motherwell’s 11-goal striker Theo Bair is also pushing hard to join him there after winning two caps in 2020.
But before that, the Hoops host Livingston in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.
They then face St Johnstone on Saturday week in the last league clash before the international break knowing they can’t afford any more slip-ups.
Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Hearts means the champions still trail Rangers by two points at the top of the Premiership.
Johnston said: “The confidence is there, definitely, and the togetherness is there.
“I haven’t really noticed any difference from last year when I came in to this year.
“There is still a really good group of guys who come in here and work hard every day and who fight for each other.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
“I’m really excited for these next few months. It’s a chance for us to play our football.
“If we do that then anything is possible.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page