Mikey spent break sorting out his fitness after blast by Lenny – and it’s earning him plaudits BOSS KNOWS WHAT I DID THIS SUMMER
force them to ship out £50m-worth of their squad in the summer window.
But it’s understood Marseille monitored the player as the French kids lost to Spain in the Under21 Championship semis.
Despite the massive fee paid by Celtic, Ntcham failed to become a fixture in Brendan Rodgers’ midfield and started only 39 of 76 league games in his two seasons at the club.
With both Ntcham and Aussie playmaker Tom Rogic attracting interest, Lennon is stepping up his search for reinforcements.
Our sister paper the Daily Record yesterday exclusively revealed Celts had made Brentford a seven-figure bid for St Kitts and Nevis midfielder Romaine Sawyers, 27.
It is understood the London club have rejected the Hoops’ initial offer.
Meanwhile, Celtic are keen on £ 2.5m- rated Ecuadorian kid Jose Cifuentes – but face rival interest from Man City.
Now he’s taking the steps he knows he needs to turn himself from a project player into a pro.
He has spent the close season working with a fitness coach after copping a dressing down from Neil Lennon.
And it has paid off. The talented playmaker has impressed the Hoops gaffer and shone on their pre-season trip to Austria and Switzerland.
The 20-year-old had been given a stiff rebuke by Lenny for his fitness – or lack of it – after he came off with cramp in both the Youth Cup Final and the Scottish Cup Final at the end of last season.
That warning prompted the Scotland Under-21 star to spend his own money and time bringing in specialist help over the summer.
He knew he needed to get in shape for what he hopes will be a season that takes him from the fringes to the forefront.
Johnston spent the summer working with Hugh Watson, a f itness coach recommended to him by former Scotland and Celtic ace Shaun Maloney.
And he admits he can see a difference as Celts prepare to face a potential eightgame journey to the Champions League groups through July and August.
Johnston said: “I’m feeling good after the trip. I thought I did all right.
“The main thing with pre-season is getting your fitness and I’m feeling good in that respect.
“When you’re transitioning from youth football into f irst- team football, the intensity is a lot higher and it is a wee bit harder to last the 90 minutes.
“I used to manage games at youth level and I want to able to do that now, play 90 minutes at first-team level every week.
“So I’ve been working really hard in training and over the summer.
“I’ve been working with Hugh and I’ve come back again flying, feeling like I was really fit.
“You do have to take into account the games I’m playing in now.
“The week before the Scottish Cup Final, I played 90 minutes against Hearts.
“It was the same team we were playing in the Final, the same game, but I’ve cramped up.
“Maybe because it’s a bigger game and the adrenaline is going. It could be that.”
With Scotland Under-21s not playing in June, Johnston had a longer break than most of his Hoops team-mates but he didn’t slacken off in the summer sunshine.
He said: “I was away on holiday but was doing stuff every day while I was there, then I met my fitness coach when I was back for a couple of sessions.
“Most people do it now – it’s just what you must do at this level.
“You don’t get much of a holiday in football anyway and that’s what you need to do if you want to come back in flying.
“At a club like Celtic, that’s what everyone has to do. You don’t get a lot of time off and you’re into big European games right away.
“Shaun actually recommended Hugh to me – he used him a lot when he was at the club. I still text Shaun now and then because he always has good advice for me. “I always like to listen to people who have a lot of experience.” Johnston’s own experiences grew exponentially last season. From a single start in each of the previous two campaigns, he became an integral part of Brendan Rodgers’ squad from the off last term. And after featuring in the ultimately failed campaign to reach the Champions League groups, he knows the pressure awaiting them when this season’s run starts on Tuesday night in Sarajevo. Johnston played in the qualifier with Alashkert last summer then featured in the Europa Lea g ue against Suduva o ld foe s Rosenborg and Valencia. So he knows he’s playing in a team who will relish rather than fear it. The Hoops kid said: “Of course there is pressure in these games. “These are the matches you need to win to get into the Champions League so everyone is going to be up for them. There’s no doubt about that. “Everyone is looking forward to it and hopefully we can get a good result away from home. “I played in