Relieved Celtic star makes 'best team in Scotland' admission after late comeback win over Ross County

Alistair Johnston believes Celtic’s come-from-behind victory against a resolute Ross County to maintain their 100% start to the Premiership season proved why they are the best team in Scotland.

Brendan Rodgers’ side conceded their first league goal of the campaign as Ronan Hale’s retaken penalty on 43 minutes put the Staggies in front at the Global Energy Stadium in Dingwall. But the Hoops produced a late fightback in the final 15 minutes as Johnston and winger Nicolas Kuhn outlined the champions resilience and never-say-die mentality.

The result means the Parkhead club have won all seven of their opening league games this term as they moved eight points clear of Rangers who taken on St Johnstone at Ibrox tonight. And Canadian international Johnston - who put in a man of the match display - was relieved to leave the highlands with maximum points at the end of a draining week for the Scottish giants.

He told Sky Sports: “I think we were knocking the whole second-half. The subs made a difference when they came on and added some extra energy. Again, it's been a difficult week. We've had three matches all away, it's not easy.

“But at the same time, it doesn't matter where you go, we're at a club where you are expected to win no matter the circumstances. I'm proud of the guys who came on. They showed their level, they showed that we have the best squad in this division and what a difference it can make.

“It felt like attacking that half towards the fans, they gave us that energy to get us over the line. We just needed that lucky first one to go in and help us go from there and luckily my right thigh helped us out.

“He (Nicolas Kuhn) just puts so much fear into the opposition with his directness and his play, he can go inside or outside. I knew exactly what their full-back was trying to do right from the get-go, trying to get as tight as possible to him because he didn’t want the ball to get out there.

“When he gets the ball onto his left foot, he’s been just magic all season for us, even in training. He’s been great again and I was full of confidence that he was going to put that one into the bottom corner and he did exactly that.”

Match-winner Kuhn admitted it was crucial Celtic found a way to grind out a victory following a challenging run of games on their travels in recent weeks.

He said: “Really important. I think we made it a little bit difficult in the first-half but, at the end, we got the three points. It was a little bit too slow, the passing. The final pass wasn’t right but second half was a bit better. You have those games sometimes but you have to overcome the and get the three points. It was an unbelievable pass (from Johnston) and I just had to finish. I didn’t even know I got a booking, I don’t know what it was for!”