Celtic

Johnston out of his depth

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Image for Johnston out of his depth

OPINION

Celtic manager Neil Lennon must show attacker Mikey Johnston the cold shoulder in the coming weeks as the teen looked out of his depth in the 1-0 win for Dundee.

The Hoops looked like they were going to have to settle for a draw before Odsonne Edouard scored a last-gasp winner to ensure all three points were taken on Sunday.

However despite Celtic racking up another win to move close to lifting the league title, there was still one player who stood out like a sore thumb for all the wrong reasons.

Johnston had a terrible time on Sunday as nothing seem to go right for the player.

The 19-year-old was easily brushed off the ball and didn’t seem able to make any notable impact on the match despite often finding himself in space.

Johnstone didn’t look ready to be featuring for Celtic’s first-team as a result and it was clear that perhaps Lennon continuing to feature would do more harm than good.

The winger has showed glimpses of his ability in his 20 outings this season and is a player for the future, but given that he has also shown he can struggle with the physical demands of senior football nor is able to consistently make the right decisions, he shouldn’t be featuring right now.

Johnstone’s struggles are hard to miss and while fans want him to succeed, they’re going to vent their frustration if he ends up costing them results.

This sort of pressure and the potential toxic atmosphere could harm his promising development and that’s something which should be protected at all costs.

While some may find it harsh to snub a young player, Lennon must do what’s best for Johnston in the long run and that right now involves him being ignored when it comes to the manager selecting his team.

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