Johnston aiming to be more than a 70-minute wonder
ATHRILLING 3-2 Glasgow Cup victory over Rangers in which he scored a superb freekick at Parkhead then, with the treble Treble spotlight on, a Scottish Cup final start against Hearts.
Two cup finals, one month apart, resulted in glory for one of Celtic’s rising stars Mikey Johnston.
They also both ended in the 72nd minute for Johnston. And that’s the issue manager Neil Lennon was intent on addressing amid the sign-off to the 20-year-old’s breakthrough campaign.
Noting the propensity for suffering cramp in big games, Lennon urged the forward to become more robust in order to stay in the reckoning for the long haul of a full season ahead.
To that end, Johnston sought the counsel of his former youth team coach Shaun Maloney, who recommended his own strength-and-conditioning guru, Hugh Watson.
Watson was mentor to Maloney throughout his successful injury comebacks and has also worked with Scotland international Stephen O’Donnell and Aberdeen defender Mikey Devlin.
Johnston recruited Watson for a series of close-season sessions which he hopes will ready him for the relentless demands as European qualifying leads swiftly into defending domestic crowns.
‘When you’re transitioning from youth football into first-team football, the intensity is a lot higher and lasting games is a bit harder,’ acknowledged Johnston.
‘The week before the Scottish Cup final, I played the 90 minutes against Hearts. It was the same team we were playing in the final, the same game, but I cramped up.
‘I used to last games at youth level and I want to able to do that now. I’ve been working really hard in training and over the summer with someone.
‘Shaun Maloney recommended him. He used him a lot when he was here. I still text Shaun here and there because he’s got really good advice for me.
‘I always like to listen to people like him who have a lot of experience. I was away on holiday doing stuff every day, then I met him when I was back for a couple of sessions.
‘Most people do it; it’s just what you do when you get to this level. You don’t get much of a holiday here anyway and I wanted to come
back flying. At a club like this, that’s what everyone has to do. You don’t get a lot of time off and you’re into big games right away, so you need to be ready.’
Both Brendan Rodgers in December and then Lennon in May rated Johnston ready to start Old Firm away games.
However, his participation came to a premature close with substitutions midway through the second half of those Ibrox defeats.
Johnston spoke of his determination to atone for those disappointments on Celtic’s pre-season trip to Austria, where he was handed the captain’s armband. The honour came for the second half of the friendly against Pinkafeld as Lennon fielded a team of youngsters.
‘I came back in flying, feeling like I was really fit, and I’m feeling good after the pre-season trip where I thought I did all right,’ said Johnston.
‘The main thing with pre-season is getting your fitness, and I’m feeling good in that respect.’
Johnston hopes to see more action when Celtic kick off the arduous journey towards the Champions League group stage this week.
FK Sarajevo, coached by former Hearts striker Husref Musemic, host the Scottish champions in Bosnia on Tuesday in a tricky first-leg tie.
‘Of course there’s pressure on the games, but these are the ones you need to win to get into Europe, so everyone is going to be up for them,’ said Johnston.
‘Everyone is looking forward to it and, hopefully, we can get the result away from home, because that’s vital.
‘I played in some big games last year. Those have given me the experience to go into this year and hopefully take into the games what I’ve learned.’
Mikey Johnston was helping to promote the Celtic FC Festival from Friday July 26 to Sunday July 28, tickets for which can be booked online now at celticfcfestival.com