Alistair Johnston declares Celtic 'hard done by' in Champions League before brutally honest reality check to teammate

A sucker punch against Lazio leaves the Scottish champions with an uphill battle to reach the knockout stage.

This never ending hard luck story is starting to wear a bit thin for Alistair Johnston’s liking. Yes, Celtic may have traded blows with Lazio under the lights on Wednesday and came within a brush of Daizen Meada’s sock of flooring the Italians with a knock-out blow.

But, ultimately, it all ended the way it almost always does. In absolute agony and with nothing more to show for their efforts than the bruises of another Champions League skirmish gone wrong. That’s 10 years and counting now since Celtic actually came out on top of one of these group games on home soil. And Johnston admits the time has come for them to start swapping plaudits and pats on the head for some actual points.

When Pedro’s header looped into the back of Joe Hart’s net deep in injury time on Wednesday night it felt like a horribly familiar end to the same old movie. And it’s left Scotland’s champions staring the exit door in the face just two games into their return to European football’s top stage - following on from a 2-0 defeat on opening night at Feyenoord when Celtic were floored by two red cards.

With a rueful shake of the head the crestfallen Canadian said: “Yes, I probably feel as if we have been a bit hard done by again. But at the same time Lazio are a very good team. They buried their chances and we didn’t. So, at the end of the day, we can’t really hold our hands up and say we deserved more.

“They’re the team that scored more than us and that’s the brutal honesty about football. I do feel there were really good spells for us, especially in the second half when we looked really comfortable.

“That’s something we can take and grow as a team. But we also need to find a way to win that game. We want to be at that next step where we use the crowd and find a way to win. That’s why it’s really frustrating, not just not finding a winner but to then lose a goal in that fashion in the 95th minute is so frustrating.”

Asked if he can take some solace from the signs that Celtic are at least getting closer to Europe’s elite Johnston went on: “It’s exactly that. When we keep 11 men on the pitch we look quite good!

“We’ve gained quite a bit of respect but at the same time we don’t just want respect. We want points on the board. So it’s about finding that ruthlessness in both areas. “Conceding a set-piece goal is frustrating for us. And then conceding a goal like the one we did at the end is really frustrating.

“We really felt like we were in the ascendancy and potentially could have had a winner that was chopped off. But that’s football. We need to learn from that and build on it.”

It’s a conundrum which is proving almost impossible to crack. Regardless of their sometimes superhuman best efforts, Celtic continue to leave their chin exposed at this level. And if it can’t all be attributed to rotten bad luck then is there an element of naivety to the way they are going about their European business? Johnston finds it difficult to disagree.

He said: “It could be harsh but at the same time it’s not far off. It’s finding that balance when you have this crowd who are such an instrumental part of how we play and who can be such a weapon – how do we use that to our advantage?

“Sometimes you need to balance it. We’re in the ascendancy, can we find a winner? But at the same time that doesn’t mean going forward at all costs and conceding one at the back. But we’re trying to find that balance still.

“The Champions League is all about moments. There’s too much quality on the pitch and you have a moment where you make a mental error and these teams are so good that they will punish you.

“Again, that’s another stepping stone for us and we’ll only be better from that experience. At the moment, though, this is a group that is frustrated. We feel that we should be at another level altogether and not losing matches like that. It’s one that we’re going to learn from but it’s a frustrating night.

“It ends on a sour note when you drop points like that at the end. But I’m happy to have played in front of that crowd. It’s something you can knock off the bucket list and you can never take that away from me. It was a pretty special night.

“Going through the match in my head and the moments are flashing up. It’s amazing some of the quality that some of the players have and they can step up to these moments and these experiences and live it and not be overwhelmed by it.”

Boss Brendan Rodgers has his own theory which, the more often he repeats it, the deeper it resonates. To thrive at this level, any team requires the kind of match winning quality which former Barcelona striker Pedro provided in the closing moments, after Cameron Carter-Vickers had been robbed of possession deep inside his own half.

The more tried and tested quality a manager has at his disposal, the less risk of another hard luck story to add to his collection. Rodgers now has the unwanted tag of being the least successful coach to have notched up 20 Champions League games, having taken just two wins in that time.

Such a stat can’t be dismissed by coincidence alone. Rodgers requires more help from above if he is to make the kind of mark in Europe that he promised to on his return to the club this summer. And Johnston admits the step up from domestic football continues to catch Celtic out.

He said: “It’s exactly that. Teams are ruthless and clinical. If you give up a half-chance, which potentially you might get away with in the Scottish Premiership, then you won’t get away with it here.

“But the gaffer has been very clear that we need to play bravely. If you’re going to come out here with that mentality where you’re worried about making a mistake then you’re going to get punished for it - you’re going to play too timidly and you’re going to let the other team dictate the ball.

“And no matter who you’re playing, home or away, you’re going to get dominated. He’s been very clear that we’ve got to go toe to toe with these teams, be brave and show what we’re all about.

“And we have the quality there to do that. Sometimes you’re going to get burned but at the end of the day we want to walk off the pitch with our heads held high having left it all out there. Against Lazio we did that but it’s just really frustrating how it ended.”