'I'll be texting my Celtic pals' admits Max Johnston as Sturm Graz look to avoid same Dortmund fate
Max Johnston is hoping he and Sturm Graz won’t get caught like Celtic and can stand out against the backdrop of the ‘Yellow Wall’.
The Scotland under-21 star will continue his Champions League adventure when the Austrian title winners travel to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday evening. Johnston has already seen how ruthless the Germans can be as they hit Celtic for seven earlier in the group section. The right-back said: “I am looking forward to Tuesday, of course, against Dortmund.
“Yeah, it's obviously going to be amazing. I’m sure it'll be a full stadium on a Champions League night and playing in front of crowds like that and against an opposition is so good as well. They beat Leipzig at the weekend, didn't they? No, they're doing well. They're obviously having a good season. So they'll be in good form.
“Obviously you see how good Celtic are and then obviously against Borussia Dortmund, that was the score. That just shows you how good Dortmund are. It's going to be a tough game, but that's the level you want to be playing at week in, week out. That's where you want to be.”
Johnston has already done his homework on Dortmund although he admitted he might reach out to some of Celtic’s Scottish contingent for more of an insight.
"I’ll maybe give some of them (the Celtic boys) texts in a little while and find out a wee bit more about them,” the former Motherwell player admitted.
“We do our analysis on each of their players and stuff. So we've done that to date. I was matched up against the boy Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. He's a 20 years old winger. He's a good player.
“He's sharp. He's obviously a very sharp player. Great feet in tight areas and stuff. So I've got to make sure we're switched on and we handle that.”
Sturm Graz are still looking to put their first points on the board in the Champions League. Johnston knows a result against Dortmund could kick their campaign into life. They still have Girona, Atalanta, Lille and Red Bull Leipzig to come. “Obviously there's still a good few games to go,” the Scot acknowledged. “I think we can just give our best and hopefully we get a few points and try and qualify.”
He started against Club Brugge and came off the bench against Sporting Lisbon and Brest. The 20-year-old admitted it has been a step up but it is where he wants to be and to test himself. The full back stated: “It’s been brilliant, obviously. I’ve been involved in all the games.
“I’ve started one and then I came on after ten minutes in the first game and I came on in the Sporting game as well, so it's been amazing to be involved in all the games so far. The Champions League Is the highest level in club football, so it’s obviously a huge step up, but we've just got to focus on going out and giving 100 per cent and showing what we can do.
“You're playing against top players at this level, so you need to make sure you're 100 per cent. You can't make any mistakes or else you'll get punished for them. I’ve still got a lot to learn and I'm only going to learn it by playing against top players.
“So I'm more than happy to put myself in uncomfortable positions, as you would say, to play against them. Just obviously coming up against these teams, against different types of players, who maybe have got different movements that maybe I've not come up against before.
“Which I find really good for me in terms of being 20 years old and defending against these players. “Some have played in the Premier League in England. “Some have played loads of Champions League games. “So for me, I think that's only for the better, learning against these players.”