Johnson Relishing First Team Experience
19-year-old goalkeeper Murray Johnson is relishing his time on loan at Airdrieonians in the Scottish Championship.
The talented shot-stopper signed on a season-long loan deal earlier this summer and has already featured 10 times for the North Lanarkshire outfit.
This is Murray’s third loan spell away from the Club – but the first two were on a short-term basis; firstly on an emergency loan with Airdrie in August 2022 before a spell at Queen of the South was cut short when he was recalled by Hibs last season.
Speaking to hibernianfc.co.uk, Johnson explained how much he has enjoyed his first real crack at playing consistent senior football.
“It has been a tough start for us, but this been my first real experience playing regular men’s footballer and I have learned a lot during that time. Playing games every week has been the biggest thing for me – that is what I need for my development.
“It is what I have needed from the start, and it is what the Club wants me to do. We’re in a very tough, and competitive league – but even from the start of the season, I have seen a massive improvement in the lads.
“Playing every week definitely gets the best out of you as a player. I have had the backing from the Manager as well, which has helped me a lot – it has not been easy, I have made mistakes or there have been performances that I haven’t been pleased with, but when the manager backs you and plays you again it gives you that extra wee bit of confidence in yourself.”
Murray’s involvement earned himself a return to the Scotland Under-21s National Team set-up. Johnson has been capped at Under-16 and Under-19 level, and has been included in several Under-21 squads – including Scot Gemmill’s latest squad for their crucial upcoming qualifiers against Belgium and Kazakhstan.
“Playing regularly with Airdrie has got me back involved with the National set-up as well, which has been great,” Johnson continued.
“I have been involved with the Under-21s before, so it is good to get together with the group again. One of the things you notice is the level of the players – you are only one step away from the Senior Team so it is good to see some of the lads making the step up and it makes you realise that you are closer than you think.
“It is good to come away and test yourself, I am still 19 years old, so it is great experience for me because I will hopefully have a couple more years with the group and this will put me in good stead for the future.
“When you are involved in these shooting drills and training drills against some of these top players, it helps raise your own standards – so it is good to see what level you are at and what you need to do to improve.”
The promising goalkeeper signed a long-term contract with the Hibees in February 2023, keeping him at the Club until Summer 2027. In the short term, however, Johnson’s main focus is on continuing to gain more experience so he is ready to challenge for the Hibs no.1 jersey in the future.
“It is still early days, for me it is all about playing as many games as I can and getting more experience under my belt. If I can rack up as many games in the Championship that will stand me in good stead for when I come back to Hibs.
“I want to be part of a successful team and a winning team with Airdrie, and then at the very least I want to get a run of games in the team. That will stand me in good stead for coming back to Hibs and for international stuff too. I want to go into pre-season next year and have no question marks about my experience or whether I am ready or not. If I can get 40 games or so, then I will be in a much better place than where I was this summer.”