JOHNSON TELLS HIS MATCHWINNER CAMPBELL HE CAN BE ‘LIKE LAMPARD’
HIBERNIAN manager Lee Johnson last night lavished praise on matchwinner Josh Campbell and made it clear he wants the homegrown 22-year-old to become Easter Road’s answer to Frank Lampard after taking the team to third in the Premiership.
Campbell scored two second-half goals to earn his side a 3-1 win over ten-man Aberdeen, who saw Liam Scales sent off, and take his season’s tally to five so far.
Johnson has worked on streamlining and simplifying Campbell’s game since arriving in the summer and wants to see him carry on making the kind of runs and racking up the number of goals that saw Lampard become such a legend at Chelsea.
‘Josh is trustworthy,’ said Johnson, who handed a first-team debut to Ukrainian striker Mykola Kukharevych after bringing him in from French side Troyes.
‘He is one of the first names on the teamsheet. He trains well every day and is a great lad.
‘I think simplifying his game is important so he can be that Lampardtype character with less touches, more in the box and getting up with the front man.
‘He is a very fit player, who can make a lot of runs in behind the back four. He should have squared to Myko one time and if I was him I’d be getting him round the throat because it was an open goal.
‘But he was there again and you have to be in there to take your chances and miss your chances. He has been exceptional. He’s a young man who has come through the academy and that’s what we’re looking for.
‘I’m very pleased, it was a really accomplished performance.’
Aberdeen took a quickfire lead through Duk Lopes before a Martin Boyle penalty restored parity before the break and set up Campbell to become the hero.
‘We had a difficult start, conceding so early,’ reflected Johnson. ‘It was a poor set-up and the sort of thing that frustrates you as a manager. You do all the work but there was a lack of communication and naivety there.
‘We were convincingly the better side in the first half.
‘We lacked a little bit of quality and composure in the final third, but we certainly earned the opportunity for the penalty and I felt we could have had one earlier for a handball.
‘The sending-off was a big moment and we were happy to see Boyler score the penalty because we have missed a few this year. Second half, we had complete control and arguably could have scored a few more.
‘I told the players I wanted this win because we have deserved more plaudits than we’ve had. It’s a long season and I felt today we moved along another notch. I was very happy.
‘We have good players to come back, ones who will be like new signings. There’s (Kyle) Magennis, (Kevin) Nisbet, (Elias) Melkersen. (Aiden) McGeady isn’t a million miles away, Kevin Dabrowski, Rocky Bashiri as well. You look at the squad and it’s going to be strong.
‘I think people will say we have done well with the budget. We have power, speed, good footballers.’