Instead he said Boro rely too much on Johnson and the rest of the team should rise to his ability rather than expect miracles from the youngster.
Gordon Strachan: "There was a big hoo-ha about him missing a penalty, but he is entitled to do something wrong every now and again.
"I have taken them myself and it's not easy. If you look at his record it is phenomenal. When he seems to be scoring and playing well we are fine.
"We must become a more whole team and not rely on one or two players.
"We need to be able to cope when players do have a day off so that we can still be successful."