Mikey Johnston reveals the setbacks in his Celtic career, attributing his newfound confidence to the restored “trust” he feels while playing for West Brom.
The Irish footballer has regained his top form while playing in the English Championship, contributing to West Brom’s promotion bid. Mikey Johnston, a winger for Celtic, has expressed newfound confidence in his physical condition after overcoming a period of injury during his loan spell with West Brom.
Struggling to perform at his best during the earlier part of the season at Celtic, the Irish international has rejuvenated his career while on loan with West Brom, scoring seven goals and playing a pivotal role in their push for promotion to the English Premier League. His outstanding performances earned him the Championship Player of the Month award for March.
Since breaking into Celtic’s first team in 2016, Johnston has been plagued by injuries, which hindered his progress and shattered his self-assurance. In an honest interview ahead of West Brom’s match against Leicester, he confessed that his fitness issues had derailed his career at Celtic and affected his confidence.
Johnston explained to the Irish Sun, “It’s a decent ratio for a winger, and since I’ve come to West Brom, that was something I wanted to do – sort my numbers out and be as effective as I can. Getting game time has allowed me to do that, as it was something I wasn’t really getting much of before I arrived here.”
He said: “It helped me massively scoring my first West Brom goal in the opening seconds of my full debut at home against Cardiff. It took the pressure off me straight away. “I came here because Carlos was keen to get me in. When he spoke to me, I could tell right away that he was keen on improving me. He knew I had not reached the levels I should have at this stage of my career.
He credits his positive start with West Brom to his full debut goal against Cardiff, which relieved the pressure on him from the outset. Choosing to join West Brom was influenced by Carlos’s eagerness to develop him and improve his game. Feeling underutilized at Celtic, Johnston sought more playing time to showcase his abilities, including scoring goals and providing assists, which he believes he hadn’t fully demonstrated previously.
Reflecting on his injury-ridden past few years, Johnston acknowledges the challenge of trusting his body again to return to playing.
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Aondofa Vershima 
Jonathan Jonathan