Celtic winger Mikey Johnston has spoken about his long career at the club and admitted he wants to make his way into the starting XI before January.
Johnston has lately been on an overseas mission with the Republic of Ireland, who will face the Netherlands in the evening in a Euro 2024 qualifier at the Johan Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam.
Johnston joined Celtic’s youth team in 2008, making his first-team debut in 2017. Despite being in and around the first team for six years, he made very little impact, struggling against a regular starter.
A loan last season to Portuguese club Vitória de Guimarães signalled his difficulties in breaking into the first team. This season, he was able to stay in the team but only played one game against Hibernian. He came off the bench in the second half in a 0-0 draw on Oct. 28 but hasn’t reappeared since.
Johnston said: [Daily Record], “Obviously I would have liked to have done a lot more at this level of my career. I had 18 months of pretty serious injuries at one point, but it turns out I’m over it. “Now and I’m playing. I would have liked to have done so much more. Obviously, what happens on the pitch has a huge influence on your life and each and every one of the players will tell you that.
“No player is going to be satisfied if they don’t play. At the end of the day, it’s up to me and I have to try to work my way up in this team. I’ve got until January to do it and I’m going to try to give it my all to make it happen, but we just have to see what happens.
“I’m going to have to work my way up in the (Celtic) team or see what happens. I don’t know what will happen in January, but I need to play.
“It hasn’t happened yet. Let’s hope so. One of my biggest dreams would have been to play in the Champions League with Celtic. That’s what I was looking to do as a kid, so it’s going to happen. However, if not, it’s not the end of the world.
Johnston’s quotes echo the frustration he has experienced so far in his Celtic career, despite being just 24 years old. Injuries plagued him, a sign of concern for such a young player.
Over the years, when it looked like Johnston would start at Celtic, injuries meant that, despite all the skill in the world, he wasn’t able to play as much as he would have liked.
With Johnston’s contract expiring in the summer of 2025, it’s now or never for the Republic of Ireland international. Celtic will most likely move him in the next two transfer windows if he doesn’t establish himself in the first team. Do it.