Duff drives on rapid progress of Johnston
ACELTIC fans’ banner ahead of the final week of the transfer window cautioned the club hierarchy not to ‘sleep at the wheel’ when it comes to improving the squad, for fear of destabilising the journey to the holy grail of 10 In A Row.
Neil Lennon may not be doing every second of the steering in the recruitment process but he certainly has the firmest grip on what’s required to become a Celtic signing. ‘Pace, stamina, enthusiasm, a bit of quality helps as well,’ he stated when asked what matches the profile of a Lennon player fit for Celtic as he eyes two or three more new arrivals.
‘The main ingredients are... not hiding. If you make a mistake, then be ready to go get the ball again. Be brave. Bravery is important to play here as well.
‘We need to see presence, quality, technique and personality on the pitch. And a great mindset for the game as well.’
It’s a searching tick list for
prospective targets to hit in the coming days of decision-making. All of which means if Mikey Johnston is checking off enough of those boxes to be a first pick on the wing for Lennon right now, ahead of former Player-of-theYear Scott Sinclair, then the 20-year-old must boast a stunning future with the club.
The descriptions of Johnston’s talent from first-team coach Damien Duff in pre-season of ‘world-class’ and ‘ridiculous’ suggest as much, too. The former Blackburn, Chelsea, Newcastle and Fulham winger has been given a hands-on role to ensure those skills are nurtured and those tags are not shed.
Johnston was served with a post-season demand to toughen up for the rigours of what Celtic had planned for him this season. Last term, the winger was substituted in the 72nd minute of the Scottish Cup final, and had endured two torrid outings at Ibrox, taken off midway through the second half by both Brendan Rodgers and Lennon.
Johnston started to address that issue by recruiting Shaun Maloney’s former strength and conditioning guru, Hugh Watson, to work with over the close season. Back at Lennoxtown, his impressive start to the campaign has been aided by analysis sessions with Republic of Ireland cap centurion Duff.
‘Mikey is still at the embryonic stage, he’s still finding his experience at this level and obviously his physicality as well,’ explained Lennon. ‘But I’m delighted with his progress and the start he’s made to the season.
‘He’s been brilliant and I’m delighted. I’ve shown faith in him in the big games. But you have to. He’s played in a lot of big ones, which was the challenge we threw to Mikey at the start of the season.
‘He’d started in the Scottish Cup final, he started at Ibrox and he did okay. We know there is more to come from him. It’s a real backhanded compliment to him that teams are doubling up on him at times. And I guess Scott Sinclair being behind him is a pressure he’s not used to either.
‘He works with Damien most days and he’s quite tough on him but Mikey responds in the right way. When I say Damien is hard, what I mean is they go over the clips and it’s really impressive to watch because Damien was a great player himself.
‘It’s impressive to watch him speak to the young lads, just showing them little snippets of what they could do better. Being a winger is a specialised position. With wingers, sometimes you have to let them make the decisions.
‘With Jamesy (Forrest), basically we tell him that when we’re in the final third, be direct, get at people — and he’s having a stellar career. He just terrorises people on the pitch, wants to hurt people and is a great finisher.’
Forrest has the right flank sewn up for as long as he wishes to work his magic there. On the left, Johnston has ousted Sinclair, who was absent from the 18-man squad on Thursday night as that terrorising was being done to AIK. The 30-year-old hasn’t made the bench for the last three games, with Lewis Morgan the preferred late substitute for Lennon.
‘That’s understandable (if Sinclair feels put out),’ said Lennon. ‘We don’t want to treat him badly because he’s a senior pro and a good professional. It’s just that he’s finding it difficult right now to get into the squad. I can’t pick six wingers.’
Tom Rogic may have to brace himself for similar disappointment to Sinclair when he returns to contention from an ankle injury sustained in the Scottish Cup final. Ryan Christie has secured that No10 role with vibrant displays topped off by eight goals in 10 appearances — Lennon’s request for a shoot-onsight policy suiting the former Inverness CT forward well.
‘Ryan has been outstanding, his energy levels are incredible,’ said Lennon. ‘He sets the tone for the rest of the team. When the tempo is level, his energy is still very good. He’s got off to a great start with eight goals. The quality of his play is fantastic.
‘Tom Rogic is still a little bit away. Hopefully we will see him soon.’