Signed from a boys’ club in his home town of Coatbridge as an Under 13 player, left-sided striker Johnny progressed through our youth development system, scoring 62 goals before leaving school to go full-time in February 2007.

He made an immediate impact, first establishing himself as a first choice Youth Team player, and then making some very successful appearances for the Reserves, which saw him train with the first team before making his SPL debut against Falkirk as a substitute in May 2007.

Johnny was in the first team squad as an unused substitute for the first couple of months on the 2007-08 season, and was included in the Scotland Under 19 squad for the European Championship qualifiers in October 2007. He was consistently named in the first team squad through until January, and in December he made a first team appearance from the bench against Inverness CT.

In April 2008 he made his Scotland under-19 debut, coming on as a substitute in the 5-1 win over Denmark, and also made one more appearance for United in the third last game of the season against Aberdeen.

Johnny was sent out on loan to Forfar Athletic at the start of the 2008-09 season, where se scored twice on his debut. After scoring 4 goals in 9 appearances, he returned to Tannadice during the January transfer window, where he started for United in the Scottish Cup tie against East Stirlingshire, where he scored his first goal for the club, grabbing the fourth goal from the penalty spot in the 4-0 win.

He then returned to Station Park for the remainder of the season, where he grabbed a further 4 goals and also continued to appear for the Scotland under-19 team. Along with Ryan McCord and Keith Watson, Johnny was another of the emerging young talents to extend their contracts at Tannadice, signing a three year deal.

At the start of the 2009-10 season, Johnny came off the bench to score in United’s 2-0 win over Ross County in the League Cup in September, but that was his only appearance for the club as he was then loaned out to Raith Rovers. His original month long deal was extended, and he eventually stayed at Starks Park for most of the season, scoring 5 goals in over 20 matches for the Kirkcaldy club.

This included Raith’s Scottish Cup run which saw them get past Airdrie United, Aberdeen and Dundee, but unfortunately for Johnny they were drawn against United in the semi finals and he missed out on what would have been the biggest match of his career to that point. Johnny completed his spell at Raith with a hat-trick against Ross County in the final League game of the season, and he returned to Tannadice in time to join in the celebrations at Hampden when United beat County to lift the Scottish Cup.

The 2010-11 campaign was a huge one for Johnny, as was used more and more as an important member of the first team squad. Mainly used as a sub for the opening quarter of the season, he scored his first SPL goal against Kilmarnock at Tannadice in November and from there on in he only failed to appear in 3 matches until the end of the season. Johnny mad a habit of scoring his goals at Tannadice, with one in a 2-0 win over Motherwell and one in the 3-0 defeat of Hibs in January.

The extended run in the first team saw his confidence grow, and after scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over Hearts at Tannadice in March, he scored in three consecutive league games in April, including the stunning headed equaliser in the 3-2 win over Rangers at Ibrox. Johnny finished the season with over 30 appearances and 9 goals to his name as he cemented his place in the first team squad.

After becoming an integral part of United’s attack, and with the transfer of David Goodwillie to Blackburn Rovers at the start of the season, Johnny moved into a more central role and formed a fantastic partnership with captain Jon Daly, with the two strikers scoring an incredible 36 goals between them. Johnny played in all but 2 matches during the 2011-12 season, missing 2 games in September due to suspension, and grabbed a total of 14 goals in all competitions. Notable goals that season were his first ever senior hat-trick in the Scottish Cup against Airdrie United, the second goal in the 2-0 win over Rangers at Ibrox in the Scottish Cup, and a fantastic solo effort against Inverness at Tannadice.