Kenny to call up Celtic winger Johnston
FORTY five years to the day after Jimmy Johnstone’s stay at Shelbourne ended, another Celtic winger with a similar name, Mikey Johnston, has arrived in Irish football, determined to leave his mark. Johnston is set to be named by Stephen Kenny in the Republic of Ireland squad next Thursday for the friendly with Latvia and the opening Euro 2024 qualifier against France after being cleared by FIFA. He qualifies through his Derry-born grandfather.
Johnston, who is on loan from Celtic to Vitoria Guimaraes, intends to land running. ‘I’m delighted to declare for the Republic of Ireland and excited for what my future holds in an Ireland shirt,’ he said. ‘It’s up to me now to impress the manager, to break into that squad and make an impact for the team in a big year.’ The 23-year old Glaswegian made his firstteam debut in 2017 and has an impressive CV that includes three Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups. For Guimaraes, Johnston has three goals and three assists in 20 games this season. Kenny believes Johnston can add creativity and pace on the flank. ‘Mikey is an exciting player, a great individual talent.
I’m looking forward to seeing him play at the Aviva Stadium, dribbling in the way that he can. ‘We look forward to helping him fulfill his potential in an Ireland shirt,’ said Kenny. Johnston’s name will evoke memories for football followers of a certain age. In the winter of 1977-78, the legendary Scottish star ‘Jinky’ Johnstone (above) was lured out of retirement to line out for the Dublin outfit. The diminutive winger did his best on brutal pitches against craggy defenders before his final game, a 1-0 loss to Cork Alberts in the FAI Cup on March 8, 1978. Meanwhile, Ireland’s Euro qualifier against Greece will be played in Athens on June 16. Ireland assistant coach John O’Shea made his senior debut in the Greek capital in November 2002 when the teams drew 0-0 in a friendly.