Feyenoord’s rising star could cure Clarke’s defensive headaches
Feyenoord defender, George Johnston, is desperate to solve Scotland’s centraldefensive problems and earn a call-up from Steve Clarke.
The former Liverpool stopper has been used by former Rangers boss Dick Advocaat for the Rotterdam club’s pre-season matches, and is expected to play a major role in the Dutch Eredivisie this season.
Johnston had to battle to overcome Covid-19 red tape to be able to play for Scot Gemmill’s Under-21s in Vilnius in midweek, as the young Scots battled to a crucial 1-0 win against Lithuania.
That puts them right in the mix to end a 25-year exile from the European Under-21 Championships.
The young Scots have conceded just two goals in their six qualifiers so far, and Johnston has impressed during the qualification campaign.
With Scotland adopting a new threeman defence and having to shoehorn Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay in there, it’s clear Clarke doesn’t have a huge amount of options in the central-defensive position.
Johnston, though, is determined to feature for his country in the future.
With a potential Euro 2020 Play-off Final against Norway on the horizon, he can point to already having kept their danger man, Erling Haaland, quiet in a pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund three weeks ago.
He also had to battle to even get to Lithuania in midweek because Feyenoord didn’t want him to go.
He said: “I definitely want to play for Scotland. My first priority is to do the best I can for the Under-21s and see where that takes me.
“But if I manage to get games for Feyenoord, I think that would certainly help me get into the Scotland squad.
“Feyenoord were a bit hesitant in allowing me to be called up for Scotland, especially as Lithuania was on their orange zone of countries for having to quarantine on my return.
“But once they spoke to the Dutch FA and their Government, things got sorted out. I first got told about it on the Sunday, and right up until I was supposed to travel to Scotland, I was talking to the SFA backroom staff, and with Feyenoord too to push it along.
“Thankfully I got the green light and it all worked out well for me.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game in Lithuania, but we stuck to our game plan.
“We’d not been together for a long time, but we deserved the win in the end.
“It was frustrating because of some of the tackles they put in, and they also rolled around a lot.
“We were disciplined and stuck to the task, however. We went to Vilnius for the three points and got them.
“There’s still a long way to go, and we still have to play the other teams in the mix.
“The Czech Republic and Greece are ahead of us in the table right now, and Croatia just behind. But it’s definitely in our minds that qualification is possible.”
Johnston moved to the Netherlands last year, but never got to make a Feyenoord appearance despite being on their bench on countless occasions. But he’s been promoted into a regular starter under Advocaat for the pre-season games, and is certain the De Kuip side will have a big season – and so will he.
He said: “I’ve had a really good pre-season. I’ve played in games and I feel a lot more confident.
“Last season was more of a settling-in period. I was on the bench in pretty much every game, but now I have been given my chance, I’m more than ready to play.
“Feyenoord have lost a couple of players, and we’ve had some injuries as well so that’s obviously helped me.
“Hopefully, I can kick on and get some games in.
“I got engaged when I went back to Holland, and I also got a game for Feyenoord the next day, so it was a bit of a double celebration for me! I’m in a good place right now.
“We didn’t lose in the league since last November, and we were flying when the season was cut short by Covid-19.
“So I think we have a really good chance this season.”