Celtic admit defeat in one Rangers chase as champions welcome back chatterbox

The Canadian international is yet to play under O’Neill after suffering a hamstring injury towards the start of the campaign but is in contention to feature in Celtic’s first post-split fixture against Falkirk.

Johnston is an extroverted character, reminiscent of some of the outspoken figures who played under O’Neill during his first time in charge of the club. And the manager hopes the right-back’s presence can help bring a fresh energy over the coming month.

He said: “He's pretty talkative. Can that make a big difference in the last five matches? I think so. They tell me that he's pretty influential in the dressing room, which is great.

“Because we are essentially quite quiet. Certainly, there is a marked difference between this team here, vocally, and the side that I used to manage in the 2000s. Quite a difference, believe it or not.

"And he’s a very good player, too, of course. So that's the most important thing. And he's been a big miss here. I know that Julian (Araujo) came in in January and did really fine. But Johnson's been a miss. And he's been a big winner at the football club as Cameron Carter-Vickers has been, as Jota's been. So we've had to get by without a lot of these players.”

Arne Engels has become a player in demand, with Lazio joining a list of clubs including Nottingham Forest and Borussia Dortmund said to be interested in signing him in the summer.

The Belgian recently returned to the side following a period of injury and O’Neill admits he’s happy to see the player enjoy wider recognition.

A potential Callum McGregor replacement

He added: “I kind of get pleased about it really because we've brought him back. I don't think he played many games under Brendan (Rodgers). He's come back and he's done fine. But it's not me taking reflective glory or anything like that.

"I want him to reach what I think is his proper potential. He's athletic. He's got a great shot. But for midfield players, you want to be a goalscorer. He can play the number six role. And I think that at times, if anything happened to Callum McGregor, perhaps Arne might be the first one to drop in there.

“I believe that he’s got more to give because of his athleticism and those other things. If he couldn't run, I would say, well, that's it. But he can do these things.

"And that's the point. You've got to keep encouraging him to do it. If the space is there, you've got to drive into it. So those are the things that I would want.

“Perhaps in my own career, it took me a long time to realise this is what managers want. And it's as obvious as daylight. You can become a really big player.”

O’Neill admits he can’t see his team overtaking Rangers on goal difference, with the Ibrox side enjoying an 11-goal advantage over their rivals.

“It's too late for that. We're not going to catch up the goal difference. We'll maybe get closer to Hearts in that sense but not Rangers too. It's asking an awful lot. I just think we'll just have to leave goal difference aside.”