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Brendan Rodgers suggests Mikey Johnston still needs to get stronger

General photo of Celtic FC Manager Brendan Rodgers at Easter Road Stadium before the Ladbrokes Premiership match between Hibernian and Celtic at Ea...
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Celtic saw Mikey Johnston impress against Motherwell on Wednesday night.

General photo of Celtic FC Manager Brendan Rodgers at Easter Road Stadium before the Ladbrokes Premiership match between Hibernian and Celtic at Easter Road on December 16, 2018 in...

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has told the Daily Record that he thinks Mikey Johnston needs to get stronger in order to cope with playing senior football regularly for the club.

The Bhoys were back in action on Wednesday night as they hosted Motherwell, with a result needed after a disappointing 2-0 defeat at Hibernian on Sunday.

Celtic had this game wrapped up by half time, as Anthony Ralston, Scott Sinclair and Johnston all got on the scoresheet to make it 3-0 by the break.

There were no more goals in the second half as Celtic coasted home to a superb win, and the impact of homegrown talents was particularly pleasing.

Ralston’s opening goal was a boost for the youngster, especially with Celtic looking at other right backs at the moment, but Johnston really caught the eye.

The 19-year-old wide man was given a chance in light of Celtic’s injury woes in attack, and he really grasped the opportunity with a goal and an impressive display.

Artak Dashyan of Alashkert  vies with Mikey Johnston of Celtic during the UEFA Champions League Qualifier between Celtic and Alashkert FC  at Celtic Park on July 18, 2018 in Glasgow,...

Rodgers spoke after the final whistle and suggested that Johnston is ‘very exciting’, but feels he needs to get stronger – much like Ryan Christie did – in order to cope with the rigours of playing for Celtic regularly.

“He’s still maturing. He’s still got to get physically stronger to cope,” said Rodgers. “He’s a very exciting talent. He’s direct. He wants to score goals and he’s got super speed. He’s still very early in his career and he’ll need to build himself physically but he’s a huge talent and opportunities like tonight to come in and affect the game and score will only help his confidence,” he added.

23rd September 2018, Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, Scotland; Ladbrokes Premiership football, Kilmarnock versus Celtic; Jordan Jones of Kilmarnock tries to nick the ball from Mikey Johnston of...