Martin O'Neill's side secured a win against Hibs at Easter Road, but struggled with the relentless battering from Storm Boelo.

Johnstone believed the unpredictable conditions made it difficult to foresee the ball's trajectory, leading to careless passing.

The Wolves loanee told Sky Sports: "Yeah, a great win. Tough place to come. Really tough conditions.

"That's a massive win for us.

"They gave it their all, and we had to defend really well. Difficult, but for everyone it's the same.

"When the ball goes in the air, you don't know where it's going to go.

"There were a few sloppy passes. It was tough but the lads dug in."

After a stint of being benched with Viljami Sinisalo, Johnstone was thrilled to be back in action.

He said: "It's always good to play. I love playing, and the goal of the group is always competition, to push each other every day in training and support each other."

However, former Celtic player Chris Sutton thought the weather-related excuse was a bit of a "stretch."

He posted on X: "Sam Johnstone blaming the weather for sloppy passing is a stretch I think.

"Can't fault Celtic domestically. Not a great performance but 3 points against Hibs after another European loss.

"Still big concerns over that midfield area and second balls the longer the game went on."