Republic of Ireland winger Mikey Johnston has expressed his enthusiasm for the potential return of Brendan Rodgers to Celtic, describing it as "unreal."
Reports emerged this week that that the Antrim native is set for a second stint at ParkHead. Rodgers left Celtic in 2019 after a succesful spell with the club.
In his first season at Celtic (2016-2017), Rodgers achieved an extraordinary feat by securing an unparalleled domestic treble. He guided the team to victory in the Scottish Premiership, Scottish Cup, and Scottish League Cup, a remarkable achievement that he replicated in the following two seasons.
Under Rodgers' guidance, Celtic experienced an unprecedented period of success, also won the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup throughout his tenure.
The pinnacle of their accomplishments came in the 2016-2017 season when they accomplished an invincible campaign, winning all three major domestic trophies without suffering a single defeat.
Following interest from English clubs, Rodgers left the Scottish giants to take on the managerial role at Leicester City in the English Premier League in 2019.
During his time there, he guided Leicester City to an FA Cup victory. However, he was dismissed from his managerial position earlier this year.
Ange Postecoglou, who succeeded Rodgers at Celtic, enjoyed a successful spell in Glasgow but has recently departed the club to join Tottenham Hotspur.
Various names have been mentioned as potential successors to Postecoglou, including David Moyes, Neill Lennon, Graham Potter, and former Celtic manager Rodgers.
🗣️"Every player will love the guy who gave them their debut won’t they?
Mikey Johnston welcomes 'unreal' Celtic Brendan Rodgers return as winger aims to stake claim
📎https://t.co/7C1PYMRjKy pic.twitter.com/zDcd3VWNKz— Football Scotland ⚽️🏴 (@Football_Scot) June 15, 2023
According to a report from The Guardian this week, Rodgers has signed a deal to return to the treble winners. The outlet states, "Talks between Rodgers, Celtic's main shareholder, Dermot Desmond, and other members of the Scottish champions' board have progressed positively, to the point where a second tenure is all but sealed."
The 24-year-old Mikey Johnston, who was on loan at Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes will return to Celtic next month. The Ireland player expressed his desire to work with Rodgers again. The Ireland winger, who was given his debut by Rodgers also admitted that he would love to see his former manager back in Glasgow.
When asked about working with old manager, he said: "Definitely. He gave me my debut, and every player will love the guy who gave them their debut, won't they?" he told the Scottish Sun this week.
"But he's a great manager, and if he came back to Celtic, he would be exceptional. With a new manager coming in at Celtic, it's a clean slate, so I could be back there. It's the club I've always supported, and I'd like to give it another go. But we just have to wait and see what happens. Whatever I do next year, I want to play every game."
Speaking about his loan experience, Johnston also claimed that he had become a better player than when he left Scotland to play regularly. "It was a tough year, and the level was high, but I performed pretty well," he added. "I feel like I've learned so much during that year.
"When you play for Celtic, you have the ball all the time, and you're constantly attacking. At my club, we had the ball a lot, but not always, as there were four bigger teams, three of them in the Champions League as well. So there were probably eight games where you were testing yourself against them when you didn't have the ball as much, and tactically, I learned so much."
