Celtic forward Mikey Johnston is confident he can make a big impact this season after working hard on his fitness this summer.

The 20-year-old made 23 appearances for the Hoops last season as Celtic won their third treble in a row. Neil Lennon has tipped a bright future for the winger, but he has been forced to work hard this summer after the manager criticised his fitness.

The work with fitness coach Hugh Watson appears to have paid off after Johnston made a flying start to pre-season. He has impressed the coaching staff in Austria and Switzerland on the team’s pre-season tour and the Glasgow-born ace is ready to make a statement this season.

He told the Daily Record: “I’m feeling good after the trip. The main thing with pre-season is getting your fitness and I’m feeling good in that respect. “When you’re transitioning from youth football into first-team football, the intensity is a lot higher and it is a wee bit harder to last the 90 minutes.

“I’ve been working with Hugh and I’ve come back again flying, feeling like I was really fit. I hope I can keep getting chances if I keep working hard, kick on and break into the team permanently. “There are new faces at the club but competition is healthy as there will be loads of good players in each position.

It’s not a bad thing if other people come in, because you can learn off more experienced players.” Celtic will start their Champions League campaign on Tuesday when they travel to Sarajevo.

Lennon’s men will be of confident of progressing to the group stages, while they are 1.33 favourites to win the Scottish Premiership title.