Mikey Johnston ready to make his mark with Republic of Ireland

A player who can keep the fans on the edge of their seats; a very rare commodity in the modern game.

That was the opinion of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny when asked about the growing reputation of one of his latest recruits to the national team.

And Mikey Johnston is ready to make his mark with the Republic of Ireland during the June international window as Kenny's side first take on Greece in Athens on Friday night, before returning to Dublin to host Gibraltar on Monday.

A Scotland international up to U21 level, the Glaswegian then declared for Ireland and made an immediate impact on his international debut in March as he came off the bench in the friendly international against Latvia at the Aviva Stadium.

Johnston was denied a debut goal, with what was his first interaction on the ball, by the width of the Lansdowne Road post. However, it did lead to the match-winning strike as Chiedozie Ogbene was on hand to help home the rebound.

The on-loan Celtic man’s introduction for the final third of that game proved a real breath of fresh air and created an audible sense of excitement and expectation every time that he touched the ball in a game that Ireland had somehow managed to throw away a two-goal lead.

Such was Johnston’s impact in the game, the manager trusted him to come on and make an impact in the high-profile clash with World Cup finalists France just days later, as Ireland were narrowly beaten 1-0 in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.

And now the second game of the qualifying campaign has arrived as Kenny’s side face a difficult away day in Athens, where they are taking on a side of similar standard, albeit one who are showing good form, coupled with the advantage of playing in the familiar June heat.

The Irish squad, on