Mikey Johnston discusses why he swapped Scotland for Ireland, and reflects on his time at Celtic and what may yet come.
FINDING ELIGIBLE PLAYERS born abroad is a more sophisticated process for the FAI nowadays, as they’ve partnered with a company called Analytics FC to ensure that no potential passport holder who might improve one of their international teams is missed.
His paperwork was cleared before the March international window and Johnston was included in the squad for the friendly with Latvia and the Euro 2024 qualifier with France. Kenny rarely makes a habit of capping new call-ups straight away but he made an exception with Johnston, bringing him off the bench against Latvia for an electric cameo. He then played the final 15 minutes of the defeat to France, bringing to both a direct dribbling quality that the team has lacked for years.
Johnston’s family are from Donegal and Derry, and his uncle lives in Bettystown, which, as Evan Ferguson’s hometown, is becoming a kind of cradle for this Irish team. Born in Glasgow, Johnston was brought into the Celtic academy and marked for precocity. Brendan Rodgers gave him a first-team debut at 18 and the club quickly followed up with a three-year contract. He was also marked for bad luck. Beset by injuries, Johnston has yet to manage more than 12 league appearances in a season for Celtic.
“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. I had one season where my body was feeling pretty bad, so that was the aim.”
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