Celtic winger Mikey Johnston has come back into the fold at Parkhead of late. Amid injuries and suspensions to some key wide-men, the former Vitoria Guimaraes loanee has gained a growing number of opportunities.
The vivacious attacker has been limited to substitute opportunities, but he has caught the eye in a few of them. Indeed Johnston is confident in himself. He said (Football Scotland): “Definitely. I feel as if I can make a difference in the team. I’ve been away a while but I have got my momentum back and my confidence back. There’s definitely competition for places. I know what I can offer the team.”
Republic of Ireland’s Jamie McGrath and Mikey Johnston on the pitch before the match REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
With vast competition for places among several players of quality in the wide areas for Celtic, it is arduous for Johnston to get game time. Recent circumstances, however, have undoubtedly helped the 24-year-old.
Between now and January, he will have many more chances to prove he has a long-term future at his boyhood club. Brendan Rodgers believes Johnston is a talented player, but at the age of 24, he needs to start playing consistently if he is to progress in his career.
No withstanding the occasional hic cup The Hoops are on the march tae 60 titles. Starting with this season etc, etc.
But that needs investing now, not later. The raw and the unpolishable, injured (or rubber ligamented) have to go.
No space for sentiment, step up or be sold. But then if they all do!! They will be sold.
And replaced with (substandard for Europe) cheaper copies.
So win, win, win then. That’s the Celtic way!!!!!!!
We have known for a long time that there is plenty of talent within Mikey Johnston as a player, but the lack of finding that final delivery still makes him a very frustrating player for many imo.
Up to know think it’s fair to say that Rodgers has done a fair amount of tinkering with the team, especially with the wider players in how he wants them to actually play?
Gone seems to have been with the wider player looking for the inside ball and looking for kyogo or the other wide player coming in at the far post, because the build up play has been to slow generally to actually play it on more occasions than not?
Strange decision by Rodgers, when it delivered so many goals under Ange, but to many of our wider players lack that pace for it to work also?
Yet now the wider man is expected to cut inside more so with the football, or stand out wide like statues as they did in Rome for such long periods?
There has been a lack of consistency in how Rodgers wants to set this Celtic team, especially with the tinkering between 4231 and 433 and how the wider men will be used?
Even goes 442 like in Rome with the introduction of Oh.
Maybe the time has come for Rodgers to cut out the tinkering, as surely by now he must know the strengths and weakness within the squad of players, and to be able to find the right formula with a style of play that gets the best from the players he’s already got, and to be able to strengthen in the areas where he wants to improve within?
At the moment it’s been a bit all over the place, certain amount goes down to the quality and set up of opposition teams, but is it really needed for the degree of adjustments we are putting within our own game to follow suit?
If our more established players can be struggling at times with the adjustments been made, then what chances of the newer players have of adapting to the changes and team set up been changed around on such a regular basis, even to a game by game degree at times?
Maybe time for Rodgers to maybe simplify his instructions, as could be a case of over complicating the whole issue, and resulting in players taking the safer option in slowing the overall play down for ourselves on way to many occasions to date imo?
May have already cost us 6 points within the SPFL, but don’t want to increase that any further before the winter break either