If Celtic’s majority shareholder Dermot Desmond agrees to the second coming of Brendan Rodgers in paradise that would suit Mikey Johnston just fine.
“Definitely. He gave me my debut and every player will love the guy who gave them their debut, don’t they? But he’s a great manager and if he came back to Celtic he would be unreal.”
Rodgers is widely reported to be in London for talks with Desmond, the Irish billionaire who has also invested in Shamrock Rovers.
Interestingly, Johnston was on the FAI radar long before Stephen Kenny capped him against Latvia last March. Mick McCarthy came calling in 2019 and Martin O’Neill took time away from the subtle wooing of Declan Rice to entice him into wearing a green shirt.
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“Yeah, we’d been in contact in the past, a few years back, but it just never seemed to happen, just because I was at home [in Glasgow] and nothing ever came of it,” said the 24-year-old.
“But in the last couple of years it sort of heated up a bit because I was playing well and the manager wanted to include me in the squad and I was happy to do it.”
Neither McCarthy nor O’Neill actually sat down with Johnston, whereas Kenny did just that earlier this year.
“Yeah, it was through my agent and I was always open to it but it only really properly came about when this manager [Kenny] was really keen to get it done.”
Former Celtic boss Neil Lennon and Damien Duff, while coaching at the club in 2020, also leant on him to embrace his Donegal and Derry roots.
“I remember that but it was a stage when I wasn’t ready. I was struggling with my body, having had a few surgeries, so it definitely wasn’t the time to decide.”
Pull up the early days of Johnston at Celtic, raiding off the right, jinking past defenders with feints and acceleration, and his Ireland debut springs to mind. The difference is he scores in the Hoops highlight reels.
Trotting off the bench three months ago at the Aviva Stadium, he ran the Latvians ragged before smashing the post, which allowed Chiedozie Ogbene finish the rebound to secure a face-saving 3-2 win.
What seems certain, so far, is Scottish football’s loss is Ireland’s gain. Really, a succession of medial collateral ligament tears coupled with the pressure of being a hometown boy at Celtic conspired to temporarily derail his career.
“Maybe I felt a little hard done by at times, but my body was in a bad way. At one stage it was really bad, it was going to take time. That’s why getting out of the UK was good, getting out of the media and stuff.”
Scotland were hardly banging down his door after Celtic loaned him out to Portuguese club Vitória Guimarães this season, where Kenny visited one weekend only for Johnston to be an unused substitute. Luckily, the Ireland manager had already made up his mind.
“I think I got a [Scotland] call-up a couple of years ago or I was going to get one but I had a couple of injuries or whatever and it never came about. Look, I’m Scottish-born but I’ve always been open to play for either.
“International football was big, representing Ireland was massive and trying to get to a big tournament is what every player dreams to do, isn’t it? And the opportunity was here and I was just delighted to take it.”
The mention of following the two Scottish wingers that turned into Irish folk heroes has Johnston visibly excited. More so Aiden McGeady than Ray Houghton but that’s because the former caught his eye as a boy.
“McGeady was sort of a hero. He was obviously a Celtic legend when I was younger so I know all about it.”
The way McGeady was castigated for choosing Ireland over Scotland did make him take a beat.
“Yeah, it was definitely a factor to consider but I feel like times have changed a little bit and I think people are a bit more open. There were obviously different reasons to why he got a bit of stick and stuff but I don’t think that’s the case any more.
“The only people that really matters are your family and friends. If you’re sort of reading comments on Twitter and stuff you’re going to be in for a disaster but the only people that matters are your family.”
