Former Celtic striker, Tommy Johnson, has shared what he loves about the fans as he recalled his time at the club.

Signed for over £2.5m in 1997 by Celtic legend, Tommy Burns, Johnson is best remembered for the goal that he scored against St Mirren that won the league in 2001 and contributed to Martin O’Neill’s treble in his first season at the club.

Of course, Johnson did score more goals than that. Over his four year period at the club, the former Aston Villa man netted 21 times for Celtic as injury hampered most of his Hoops career. He was also part of Wim Jansen‘s team that stopped Rangers’ bid for nine-in-a-row.

But even now, Johnson is still blown away by the reception he gets from the Celtic fans whenever he travels around the globe.

‘They are everywhere’ – Johnson blown away with global appeal of Celtic

Including Celtic, Johnson has played for eleven clubs in his career which included the likes of Everton, Ason Villa and Sheffield Wednesday.

But even though he’s played in the English top tier, Johnson thinks there is nothing quite like the Celtic fans.

Johnson said [The Herald], “I think most players realise how big Celtic is. They are worldwide, known everywhere you go.

“Everywhere. You could be in the middle of the countryside in England, in the Lake District and you will meet a fan. The United States, all over Europe.

“I was in London a couple of weeks ago seeing my daughters. I had just got out of the tube station and was walking to my daughter’s house and a Celtic fan came up to me and said, ‘Hiya, Tommy! What are you doing here?’ They are everywhere.

“My girls know I played football and did alright. But they said, ‘How do people still recognise you? You’re all grey now!

“I could have left a few times, to be honest, but I didn’t want to.

“I don’t know if that was because I didn’t want to be classed as a failure or whatever. But I loved the place.”

Johnson left Celtic in 2001 and briefly had a spell at Sheffield Wednesday where he made just eight apprearances before he returned to Scotland to join Kilmarnock.

The former Hoops strikers career fizzled out and he eventually hung up his boots in 2007 but he will always be remembered fondly by the Celtic fans.

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