John Hartson believes Mikey Johnston has a genuine opportunity to revive his career at Celtic following an impressive loan spell at West Brom.
Despite struggling to make a significant impact in Glasgow, Johnston’s form in the English Championship has been remarkable, netting six goals in ten games.
These goals haven’t been tap-ins either, they’ve been strikes of pure quality.
This surge in performance has not only caught the attention of West Brom supporters, who are eager to see his loan deal made permanent but also of pundits and fans back in Scotland.
Brendan Rodgers, who sanctioned Johnston’s move, is seen by Hartson as likely to give the winger another chance to prove himself at Celtic upon his return.
The key for Johnston, according to Hartson, will be to replicate his current form in the high-pressure environment of Celtic Park, where expectations and standards are considerably higher than in the Championship. These comments come off the back of Rodgers’ comments about the pressure of playing for Celtic is different to West Brom.
Hartson said on Go Radio, via RecordSport: “This is a really interesting one. When Brendan Rodgers said that he needs to move a few on a lot of the Celtic fans would have put Mikey Johnston in that because his performances for Celtic have not been at the level that Rodgers has been looking for.
“Now you go and send him to West Brom and people are saying we should have kept him, given him chances etc. But in all fairness Celtic were not in a position to give lads opportunities, they have to go win games. So Brendan maybe needs to go with his more tried and trusted and experience. I am glad for Mikey that he is doing so well. West Brom is a big club. They are going for promotion back into the Premier League and some of the goals he has scored have been fantastic.
“But remember he is only on loan so Celtic will see more of Mikey Johnston it is just a case of the player himself when he comes back making a similar impact back at Celtic where the pressure is multiplied a lot more, and not being disrespectful to the Championship, he has to perform every single week at Celtic. There is no hiding place. So when he comes back eventually it is going to be down to him to put those type of performances he’s shown at West Brom.
“Sometimes maybe a player needs to go out on loan to discover himself again and put in some good performances. He’s responded exactly how Brendan Rodgers will have wanted him to. Keep going, be positive and go do well at your loan club. Your stock is then a bit higher and one or two other clubs may be interested but Celtic hold the player. He’s a Celtic player. There is no doubt he will come back and there is no doubt he will have another opportunity at Celtic.”
