Johnson tells young players to speak up

LEE Johnson wants his young stars to find their vocal cords on the field.

Athletic’s manager says his players are “too quiet” — and wants his shyer members to take a leaf out the book of Cliff Byrne.

“Communication is a big thing I’ve noticed,” said Johnson. “When you have younger players who might not know what to say, sometimes they don’t speak. They should, because it makes the game a lot easier.

“People like Cliff are very good at that and pretty much made a career out of getting other people to sing to their tune.”

Johnson believes there isn’t too much wrong with Athletic defensively, even though the team has yet to keep a clean sheet this season.

“I study the goals we have let in and you are looking at a couple from set pieces, which isn’t too bad, four penalties, which you can’t always do a lot about, and only a handful from open play,” he added.

“There isn’t an awful lot wrong. It is the gloss, the bit of luck that we’re missing.”