Brendan Rodgers issues blunt 'must do more' demand to Celtic winger after failing to impress on rare start

Brendan Rodgers has informed winger Mikey Johnston he "needs to do more" to become a regular starter for Celtic after failing to grasp his opportunity against Hibs.

The Republic of Ireland international was handed a rare start after impressing as a second half substitute against St Johnstone at the weekend, but he lasted just over an hour before being replaced by Marco Tilio during the 4-1 victory over the Edinburgh club.

A double from Oh Hyeon-gyu - filling in for Kyogo Furuhashi up front - and further goals from Matt O'Riley and Luis Palma ensured the Hoops coasted to a comfortable win at Parkhead on Wednesday night.

Following his half-time rant in Perth, Rodgers got the response he was looking for from the majority of his players but told BBC Sportsound that Johnston needs to offer a greater impact or risk losing his place in the matchday squad.

What did Brendan Rodgers say about Mikey Johnston?

He declared: "Mikey needs to do more, that is the reality. He has big talent and comes into the game but if you are going to start the game, we need more impact from him but that is something we can hopefully see over the course of time.

"He's not young, he's 24. At some time you need to grab the bull by the horns and be aggressive. It can be easier coming off the bench, it doesn't feel like pressure. You can come in and show your qualities. If any player wants to be starting here you have to have that personality to come in and play.

"But he's been really good in training and earned the start. Hopefully if he gets more starts he can show more of his qualities."

Rodgers has also played down injury fears over centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers who was taken off at half-time as a precaution with a tight hamstring. Left-back Greg Taylor was also subbed after suffering a bout of flu.

He added: "Cam just felt his hamstring so we didn't want to take any risk. He hasn't pulled it but he just felt it a bit tight, probably the accumulation of games. It is the one position we haven't changed about as much as the continuity of the two centre-backs is very important. We just took him off as a precaution.

"Greg done great to make the game. He was feeling a bit fluey so as soon as we were in a good position in the game we just took him off and looked after him."