The international break has given the Celtic supporters a chance to see players who have been playing regularly for their team against some of the best players in the world.
Callum McGregor was up against the likes of France and Spain and Alistair Johnston faced the might of Kyogo Furhashi and Reo Hatate’s Japan.
However, the international break also gave the Celtic fans the chance to run the rule over Mikey Johnston. The 24-year-old winger has struggled to get minutes due to an early-season injury but now he’s back to full fitness, Johnston did feature for the Republic of Ireland.
A goal and a Man of the Match performance against Gibraltar has started the usual conversation of whether Johnston will feature for Celtic again. Falkirk captain and radio pundit, Stephen McGinn, was asked his thoughts on the matter and if he saw any way for the Irish international to carve out a career at Celtic.
McGinn said [The Go Radio Football Show], “No, honestly I don’t. I think I mean you see the turnaround in Liam Scales is a great example. Anthony Ralston and Greg Taylor, all these guys.
“But I just think Mikey Johnston’s at that stage where I mean, he’s playing for Ireland and he’s had that loan spell in Portugal.
“I’ve met him a couple of times, he’s a great lad. He showed real potential at times teams, especially in Brendan Rodgers’ first spell.
“But just a mix through injuries and I just can’t see the opportunity is going to come up.”
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Mikey Johnston’s time at Celtic seems to be up
I’ve said consistently that I would love to see Johnston make it at Celtic. The supporters love nothing more than a player coming through the academy and making it in the Celtic first-team.
Remarkably, this is Johnston’s eighth season at Celtic but is yet to make a claim for any first-team place.
You could argue that working under Brendan Rodgers, Neil Lennon and Ange Postecoglou and that he’s still at Celtic means that he does have something about him.
On the other hand, a counterargument could be made that throughout his time and all the managers he’s worked under and that he’s still not nailed down a spot in the squad never mind the first-team tells you all you need to know.
I’m afraid that McGinn, who is not the first pundit to cast doubt on Johnston’s Celtic future, could be correct. Johnston didn’t even make today’s squad for the trip to Tynecastle. It could be now that for the 24-year-old winger, a move in January may be best for him.
In other news, ‘Hypocrites’: Mark Wilson delivers a bizarre Celtic ticket allocation ‘truth’ ahead of Hearts fixture