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Alistair Johnston wants own part of Celtic history as he targets second Champions League all-nighter after Leipzig high

Alistair Johnston was buzzing after Celtic dumped Leipzig in Champions League
-Credit: (Image: Reach Publishing Services Limited)


Alistair Johnston is dreaming of making Champions League history – and hoping for another Celtic sleepless night.

The Hoops hero revealed he couldn’t get any kip after being left on such a high after rolling over RB Leipzig last time out. And he’ll be thrilled with another all-nighter if Celts can put the group stage to bed against Club Brugge on Wednesday night. Brendan Rodgers’ men can all but seal their spot in the play-off round with another three points after the huge victory over Leipzig on the back of the battling draw against Atalanta.

Johnston didn’t get a wink after the RB thriller but knows the Hoops will need a repeat again the in-form Belgian big guns. He said: “For the Leipzig match, Celtic Park was on fire. It was unbelievable. Everyone walked out of the stadium that night just overjoyed with that. I didn’t sleep and I can’t imagine our fans really slept too much after that.

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“Those poor people that had to go to work the next day, I feel for them. But again, it’s matches like that, which just get you hooked.

“It really is almost like a drug that you just want more and more of once you get a little taste of it. Now you’re just so excited for the next one to go out there and hopefully replicate it or take it even a step further and have a better performance.”

Celtic haven’t managed to blast beyond the Champions League group stage for 11 years – when Neil Lennon’s men beat Barcelona on the way to the last 16. Gordon Strachan’s Celts pulled it off twice while Martin O’Neill’s men achieved huge wins in the competition and reached the UEFA Cup Final.

Johnston is well aware of the Hoops European heroes – and he insisted the current team is determined to create a famous story of their own. He said: “When you come to one of these famous clubs like Celtic, you want to make your own history.

“You want to somehow find a way to do that. It’s tough because there is such a great and grand history of this club.

“But you want to be a part of things that fans remember – you want to be remembered for something. I’d love to go down being remembered as being a part of one of the best Celtic teams that you can possibly be a part of.

“This team so far with what we’ve shown, we’re definitely rivalling that, but at the same time you need to win trophies. The European nights are really important. If you can do something on the European stage, that will live long in our fans’ memories.”

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