‘He’s too good’: International boss suggests star should consider leaving Celtic

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny insists Mikey Johnston is ‘too good’ to be stuck on the bench as the winger struggles for chances at Scottish Premiership champions Celtic. 

As new £3.5 million signing Luis Palma cut inside and curled a beauty into the top corner of the Kilmarnock net last time out, Mikey Johnston’s hopes of forcing his way into Brendan Rodgers’ first-team plans diminished ever further.

A back injury has restricted Johnston’s chances of making an impact at club level. But, even when fit, opportunities could be few and far between. In addition to Palma, Celtic also signed Yang Hyun-Jun over the summer, with Marco Tilio arriving too and Daizen Maeda at his best on the left.

Celtic’s Mikey Johnston shines for Ireland

The international break – and a rare 66 minute outing – must have been a welcome respite for Johnston then, the winger marking a start with a goal as the Republic of Ireland hammered Gibraltar 4-0 on Monday night.

And Stephen Kenny, the under-pressure ROI coach, has indicated that Johnston may be better off looking for a move at club level if things continue as they are for him at Parkhead.

“Mikey Johnston, I love wingers. He is too good not to be playing football,” Kenny says, via the Irish Examiner. “He played well, as did Chiedozie (Ogbene of Luton Town).

“We have wingers who can make an impact.”

Johnston yet to feature for Celtic this season

Glasgow-born Johnston spent the whole of 2022/23 out on loan at Vitoria Guimaraes in Portugal. He scored three goals and set up five more, but was too expensive to be tied down to a permanent deal by the Primeira Liga outfit.

“We have to enjoy him until the end of the season,” explained Vitoria vice president Nuno Leite. “He is a great player. An extraordinary professional who helps the group. Unfortunately, Vitoria will not be able to keep him.”

“Regarding Mikey, he is a player with quality,” head coach Joao Aroso added. “(He is) strong in one-on-ones. With many years at Celtic, he’s used to strong environments.”

This weekend’s unusual Celtic kick-off explained as complex Sky Sports issue arises

Celtic are back in action this weekend and we are involved in a pretty tasty clash.

On Sunday, Brendan Rodgers‘ side will try to continue their terrific start to the Premiership season when we take on Hearts.

The Tynecastle clash is the latest really testing away trip we’ve had at the start of the season. After wins at Pittodrie, Ibrox, the Tony Macaroni Arena and Fir Park, Tynecastle and Easter Road could complete the set.

You may, or may not, have noticed that Sunday’s match is a 2:15pm kick-off. Those starts are unusual for Scottish football matches. Normally, if we were playing on a Sunday, we’d be looking at a 12pm kick-off.

The reason for this was explained in a recent article from Goal, and it essentially involved Hearts and Celtic stepping in to sort out a complex Sky Sports scheduling issue.

The broadcasters, who show the Scottish Premiership and the English Premier League, usually have two back-to-back games from the latter on a Sunday.

This week, however, they have had to move one of those — Sheffield United vs Manchester United — to Saturday night instead. This is because the Old Trafford side are due to play in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, and therefore can’t play their prior game on a Sunday as there’s not enough of a turnaround.

As a result, Sky only have one Premier League game on that day and a hole in their usual mid-afternoon slot. Enter Hearts vs Celtic and a later start for the 12 or so Hoops supporters actually with tickets for the match. (Our allocation is actually 576)

You may be wondering what Sky are now doing about the traditional Premiership 12pm slot. Well, Celtic are actually stepping in there too.

Celtic FC Women face Rangers in the SWPL on Sunday, and that match from the Excelsior Stadium will be shown on Sky. Kick-off is at noon.

So that’s around four hours worth of Celtic on Sunday, and you won’t even need to lift your remote to change the channel.