Johnston can’t get enough of Duff’s pearls of wisdom
MIKEY JOHNSTON was only three when Damien Duff was named in UEFA’s team of the year for 2002. Lauded on the back of his performances for the Republic of Ireland at the World Cup in Japan and Korea, Duff would later transfer to Chelsea from Blackburn for £17million and was a key part of Jose Mourinho’s title-winning teams in 2005 and 2006. While it’s sobering to learn that Johnston, 20, has no memory of any of that, the Celtic starlet has been gorging on online footage of his coach as he bids to elevate his own wing play towards a similar level. And he has found the 40-year-old to be a rich source of advice as he bids to hold down a place in Neil Lennon’s starting XI. ‘I like to talk to him most days, just going over games and talking about football in general,’ said Johnston, speaking at the launch of the SPFL Match Attax 2019/20 trading card game. ‘He has been in the world team of the year so I can learn so much from him. He was a bit before my time but I have looked him up on the internet and he was a pretty good player. He was a bit different to me. He played on the left but he was an old-school winger. He got 100 caps — not bad!’ Appointed as a reserve coach in January before being promoted to first-team status after Brendan Rodgers’ sudden departure the following month, Duff has taken a shine to Johnston over the past few months, remarking in pre-season: ‘His ability is ridiculous, really. Some of the stuff I’ve seen from him has been worldclass.’ Johnston is flattered. ‘To have someone of that calibre saying such nice things, it gives you a lot of confidence,’ he continued. ‘He pulls me aside at training — if I’ve done something wrong he’ll be caning me! After games he’ll go through the clips with me and then he’ll slaughter me in team meetings but that’s good. You learn from all that.’ Johnston missed Celtic’s win at Hamilton yesterday with a groin strain but hopes to be fit for the opening Europa League group tie against Rennes on Thursday.