Brendan Rodgers reminded his Celtic players recently they are nearing the point of the season when heroes can be made. When one of them can step up and etch their name into club folklore. Such sentiments can have more than a hint of the cornball about them, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t true.

Just ask Tommy Johnson. The Geordie striker’s time at Celtic may otherwise have been chiefly remembered as slightly disappointing over the piece, with injuries hampering his game time over his four and a half year stay in Glasgow.

But when he bumps into Celtic fans, there is only one topic of conversation. And it isn’t the time he spent kicking his heels in the stand. It is his title-clinching goal against St Mirren back in 2001, with even the horrendous touch he took after receiving a pass from Henrik Larsson before eventually despatching his shot into the net being glossed over.

READ MORE: Celtic tipped to spend big in bid to land Champions League riches

He has his moment in Celtic’s history, and nobody can take that from him. And that is the prize that is dangling in front of the current crop of players, he says, worth more than the medals they may win themselves.

“It is how it goes,” Johnson said.

“When we played St Mirren and I scored the goal I got cramp. I came off and thought, ‘Don’t anybody else score, please’. You just want to win the game and it didn’t matter who scored, but deep down, you are thinking that.

“It transpired that nobody else scored so it was alright. It is great to be remembered for that. But we had a great manager, great staff and great players.

“You still get reminded about it, that is the thing. I can go through all the managers that I had, when I didn’t play and injuries, but speak to any Celtic fan and all they go on about is St Mirren.

“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. When Celtic come in for you in the first place, you know what the lads are like and the history of the club and what it means to play for them. The four-and-a-half years were brilliant.

“I had managers who didn’t play me, but I was involved all that season and was fortunate enough to play in the last few games before we won the league and managed to score the goal. Everyone reminds me of that, they don’t mention the injuries.

“Yeah, I should have played a lot more than I did, I totally get it. But I wouldn’t be at things like this [charity golf days] if I didn’t score that goal. It is daft. It is a special part of your life. Once you play for Celtic that is it, everyone remembers you.”

Johnson certainly remembers that warm April day when his goal meant that Martin O’Neill would win the title on his first season in Scotland, and with five games to spare, too.

“I remember we played Dundee at home on the Wednesday before and I scored, and we were winning 1-0 at half-time,” he said.

“We came in at half-time and the gaffer and John Robertson and Steve Walford told us to go and win it in the second 45 minutes. We knew we were going to win it on the Saturday, no disrespect to St Mirren.

“It was live on Sky, it was sunny, all the families were there. We knew on the Saturday we were going to win it. Not in a cocky or arrogant way. You are excited more than anything and I would imagine the current Celtic lads feel the same.

“Brendan will be instilling into them the fact that the job isn’t done yet with the way the season has been – up and down up and down. But they are three points ahead and that is where you want to be.

“Which camp would you rather be in? You want to be three points ahead. Get the Hearts game out the way and then they have Rangers at Parkhead.”

READ MORE: No talks yet, but does Greg Taylor deserve new Celtic deal?

That is a match that Johnson fully expects Celtic to win despite their own indifferent form at times this season. When it comes to the crunch, just as O’Neill did, Johnson is certain that Rodgers will have his players ready.

“They’re alright aren’t they?” he said.

“They’ve had good parts, bad parts, but with Rangers losing against Ross County and then drawing with Dundee it’s back in Celtic’s hands.

“It’s stating the obvious, but if they win the games, they win the league don’t they? I still keep an eye on it, Celtic were a big part of my life.”

*Tommy Johnson was speaking at the annual Hartson Foundation golf day at Turnberry. The Hartson Foundation has raised awareness and made several donations to cancer charities all around Scotland for more than a decade.