Mikey Johnston is available to start at Easter Road tonight if necessary after returning to the Celtic squad in recent weeks.
Ange Postecoglou has been keen to give the exciting Mikey minutes in recent matches. Impressive back-to-back cameo displays against Ferencvaros and St Johnstone had plenty of supporters dazzled with what he brought in the final third.
Johnston was brought on for the final half hour against St Johnstone after a short 8-minute cameo against Ferencvaros. And now, he’s ready to feature for a longer period if necessary.
Postecoglou opened up on Mikey’s injury return in the build-up to tonight’s game against Jack Ross’ Hibs, and he certainly gave a pleasing update.
As quoted by the Glasgow Times, Ange said: “I think the important thing for Mikey now is he’s had two or three weeks of really solid training. He’s worked hard with the fitness staff and himself personally on and off the field.
“We’ve got him a little bit of game time in the past couple of games and he’s done really well. He is available. Whether I’m going to start him, it will just be a case of seeing when the first opportunity for that to happen is.
“The key thing for me is that he keeps getting stronger and working hard at his game on and off the field. I’m sure his opportunity will come.”
Mikey Johnston available as Celtic boss waits for an opportunity to start him
So Johnston is available to start games once more as the manager waits on an opportunity to throw him in. For a player of Mikey’s quality, he likely won’t have to wait long.
His cameo appearances against Ferencvaros and St Johnstone have proved supporters with plenty of encouragement. And if we’re being totally honest, Johnston has probably made a real impression on the manager too. Ange can’t have been blind to just how big an impact Mikey made in both matches.
Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s a guaranteed starter in the side. Postecoglou will be a touch hesitant to break up his exciting attacking trio of Liel Abada, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Jota respectively. Especially for big games.
Sure, we gave Giorgos Giakoumakis a runout against St Johnstone on Saturday. But that was the kind of game he could afford to mix things up a tad. And it’s that kind of fixture in which Johnston will likely need to make his mark in first and foremost.
That means Livingston at home on Saturday could easily be Mikey’s first start for the club since January. After tonight’s game at Easter Road, there will be plenty of opportunities against the lesser-ranked sides of the Premiership. It’s something that should lead to more chances being handed out to fringe players as we look to strike the right balance with squad rotation.
One thing’s for sure, Johnston is banging the door down already. Fingers crossed he gets a deserved starting opportunity soon.
In other news, Celtic midfielder James McCarthy “training well” after injury return
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