Skip to main content

Mikey Johnston explains where his Celtic career went wrong as 'trust' finally returns at West Brom

The Ireland cap has rediscovered his best from in the English Championship amid the Baggies' promotion push.

Mikey Johnston

Celtic winger Mikey Johnston has claimed he now "trusts" his body again after overcoming his injury nightmare during his West Brom loan.

The Ireland international struggled to find top form at Celtic earlier in the campaign but has kickstarted his career with the Baggies on loan from the Scottish Premiership leaders. He has hit seven goals for the Baggies and has played a key part in their push to reach the English Premier League - with the 24-year-old also scooping the gong for Championship Player of the Month gong for March.


The Lennoxtown academy graduate has been hampered by injury since making his Celtic first-team breakthrough back in 2016. In an honest interview ahead of West Brom's clash with Leicester, he admitted that his fitness issues derailed his Parkhead career - and his own self-confidence.


READ MORE: Rangers reverting to type has them on life support as Celtic come alive before sizzling Cup subplot – Chris SuttonREAD MORE: Who will win Aberdeen vs Celtic? Our writers make their predictions for Scottish Cup semi showdown at Hampden

He told 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.

"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.

Article continues below

"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.

"I felt like I wasn't playing as much as I wanted to so I was unable to show my full potential. I've been in and around Celtic for a long time and know the sort of player I am but just being able to get the minutes to show it and score goals and get assists is something I've always wanted to do. The more time and chances I get the more confidence I am getting."

"Over the last few years I've had a lot more injuries than I should have had at this age. To trust my body to get playing again was a big thing for me."

Follow Daily Record:


English Premier LeagueCeltic FCWest Bromwich Albion FCMikey JohnstonScottish PremiershipRepublic of Ireland football team
reach logo

At Reach and across our entities we and our partners use information collected through cookies and other identifiers from your device to improve experience on our site, analyse how it is used and to show personalised advertising. You can opt out of the sale or sharing of your data, at any time clicking the "Do Not Sell or Share my Data" button at the bottom of the webpage. Please note that your preferences are browser specific. Use of our website and any of our services represents your acceptance of the use of cookies and consent to the practices described in our Privacy Notice and Cookie Notice.