Mikey Johnston’s impressive five-minute cameo against Kilmarnock drew praise from Neil Lennon who admitted that Celtic have missed his dynamism.
Johnston hadn’t played for Celtic since January after a controversial appearance against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park. The winger had the chance to be taken off earlier in that one after struggling with a knee injury but chose to stay on. Minutes later he picked up a bad injury that had Lennon absolutely fizzing with him on the bench (Glasgow Times).
11 months later and Mikey is back in the side after having surgery. He impressed in the Glasgow Cup against Rangers last week for the development side before looking lively in his short cameo vs Killie yesterday.
And after coming close to bagging a goal on his return, Lennon had a short statement of praise for his energetic young winger as he admitted the club has missed him.
As quoted by the Herald, Lennon said: “We’ve missed him. He is a player that can break the lines, and we’ve been missing that type. So I’m happy he’s back.”
A chance to hit the goal trail in the coming weeks
Lennon won’t rush Johnston back into the starting lineup given how long he’s been out the game. The last thing we need is for the club’s quickest player to pick up yet another long-term injury. He’s missed enough football as it is.
However, with Hearts, Ross County, Hamilton, and Dundee United coming up over the next few weeks, Lennon has a big decision to make on how many minutes he gives Mikey from the bench. Especially considering all of those fixtures are matches where Johnston could easily come on and do some damage.
He’ll surely be looking at these games as huge opportunities to hit the goal trail and get himself up and running for the season. With Rangers at Ibrox looming next month, Mikey will want to get some minutes under his belt in order to earn a substantial sub appearance for that one.
It’s worth noting that Johnston is actually the most natural left-sided player we have with the club. Moi Elyounoussi is his main rival positionally, but in terms of raw width it’s Johnston who really brings the directness.
Celtic fans will be delighted to have him back, and with a kind run of fixtures coming up there should be plenty of opportunities for Lennon to throw Mikey into the mix on a match-by-match basis.
Hopefully this is the start of a big comeback for the Lennoxtown graduate.
In other news, a Celtic star has dismissed talk of leaving the club in January.
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