Celtic talent Michael Johnston has revealed what Brendan Rodgers told him before he came on for the injured Odsonne Edouard during the Bhoys’ comfortable win over Motherwell on Wednesday.
The Hoops returned to the summit of the Scottish Premiership table following their comfortable 3-0 win over Motherwell on Wednesday at Parkhead courtesy of goals from Anthony Ralston, Scott Sinclair and Johnston.
Rodgers handed out a rare start to academy graduate Ralston at right-back and soon after the hosts were 2-0 up, Johnston had to be summoned from the bench to replace the injured Edouard.
Both players stepped up when it mattered the most and netted either side of Sinclair’s penalty to put the game to bed before the half-time interval.
Johnston, who has had to wait for a long time for his first senior goal, netted the pick of the goals when he chipped over the opposition’s goalkeeper from 18 yards to complete the rout in the 45th minute.
The winger revealed that Rodgers took a lot of pressure off him by telling him to relax and play his natural game as he replaced Edouard in the 38th minute.
“The manager didn’t say much to me before going on”, Johnston was quoted as saying by the Herald.
“He just told me to go on and play my usual game, work hard and there was no pressure.”
Johnston, who has represented Scotland across various age groups, made his 11th appearances in all competitions when he came off the bench against Motherwell.
