Neil Lennon: Mikey Johnston must get fitter

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has revealed Mikey Johnston has been told he needs to work on his fitness ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.

Scotland Under-21 international Johnston is highly-regarded at Parkhead after coming through the youth set-up before making his senior debut in a 4-1 victory over St Johnstone in May 2017. The 20-year-old made 14 Scottish Premiership appearances last season, scoring five goals in the process, and he is expected to be handed more first-team opportunities in the upcoming campaign.

Johnston started for the Bhoys in the Scottish Cup final in the final game of last season, which shows how highly Lennon rates the winger, but the manager wants a physical improvement from the Glaswegian. The Celtic chief says he is an admirer of the Scottish starlet although he revealed work needs to be done in the fitness department if more success is to come next season.

“It’s a big season for Michael because it’s the next one,” Lennon told the Glasgow Evening Training. “I like him. He needs to get fitter and more robust, and he’s been told that. “He came off in the youth cup final and Scottish Cup final with cramp. But we need to look at the conditioning of all the players who aren’t playing on a regular basis.”

Celtic play their first pre-season friendly on Wednesday against Pinkafeld, as they gear up to take on FK Sarajevo in qualifying for the Champions League at the start of next season.

The Bhoys, who are waiting for the new fixtures to be released, are 1.33 favourites to defend their SPL title, while rivals Rangers are priced at 3.20.