Mikey Johnston was called up alongside Liam Scales into Stephen Kenny’s Ireland Mens National Team squad for their upcoming fixtures against New Zealand and the Netherlands. The Celtic winger has been included despite only making a cameo appearance for Celtic away to Hibs a few weeks ago.
SQUAD ANNOUNCED | Netherlands & New Zealand
Troy Parrott & Caoimhin Kelleher return to the squad for the November fixtures 🤩
James McClean set to link up with the squad for the New Zealand fixture at the @AVIVAStadium for his final Ireland appearance 💚 pic.twitter.com/3RLJwyNQ24
— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) November 9, 2023
Johnston received some backlash from supporters, who were frustrated at the performance more than the player. Although, there is a consensus that Celtic are not getting the best out of the Academy product for whatever reason.
With Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada injured (Celtic’s best two wide options), there is an argument that now is the time for Johnston to make his mark with Celtic. Tomorrow’s game against Aberdeen could afford the ample opportunity to give him an opportunity from the start to prove his worth.
Realistically, if Johnston was going to make the cut at the club, he would have done so by now. That is the belief that most fans seem to have regarding the 24-year-old. Injuries presented an opportunity for Scales, who many had written off. Now, the ex-Shamrock Rovers central defender has established himself in the first team and it only required there to be an element of chance.
Johnston requires that chance to prove whether there is more to his game than the skills, burst of pace. Johnston is registered to play in Europe and, with Palma and Maeda ruled out for the game in Rome, he needs to get up to speed to compete with Yang and Forrest. It is not ideal, but it is where we are.
