IN with the new, but not exactly out with the old. It is perhaps unsurprising given that Brendan Rodgers was returning to familiar ground himself when he came back to Celtic in the summer that he has been reluctant to dispense with some of those he had previously worked with.
Even still, it was something of an eyebrow raiser that when he was forced to turn to his bench for some attacking inspiration at Easter Road on Saturday that - in 2023 - he was bringing on James Forrest and Mikey Johnston instead of a new signing like Yang Hyun-Jun.
Though, perhaps reports of Forrest’s demise as a force at this level were exaggerated following his lack of action under Ange Postecoglou last season.
“I have James Forrest who is 32 but he’s our quickest winger still,” Rodgers said.
“We did tests the other week and he’s still my quickest winger. He’s up there with Daizen Maeda, believe it or not in terms of sheer speed.
“He might not be able to do it as much, or for prolonged periods of the game. But his actual football is still outstanding - and he can come in and impact the game.
“I think every game he’s had he’s been able to do that, whether he’s started or come off the bench. He could arguably have got the winner for us at the weekend.
“Listen, we understand the modern world and the want for shiny new things. But I’m not going to throw guys to the garbage who I know are still very, very good players and who can make an impact for us.
“And James came in and did really well.”
Whatever your opinion on Forrest’s current suitability as a Celtic first team player in this advanced stage of his career, there is no doubt that that career has been a stellar one. The chances of Johnston enjoying similar longevity at the club or having even a remotely similar impact on the Celtic first team hang in the balance. Indeed, he was close to leaving in the summer.
In fairness to the 24-year-old, these last few months represent perhaps the first time in many years that he has been able to enjoy a sustained period of fitness while at Celtic, and Rodgers is urging him to seize the moment.
“Mikey is an interesting one,” he said.
“I played him here when he was 18 years of age and he’s now a 24-year-old man.
“He hasn’t quite had the run here as he would have liked. That’s also been because he’s not been fit enough regularly enough.
“I wanted to see him because he’s done fairly well in training, and that’s where you’re judging, you’re measuring guys in training.
“If they are doing well in training and performing well and showing you they want to play, you’ve got to maybe give them that opportunity.
“So, he came into the game Mikey and yeah, it was a wee bit hit and miss with one or two of the things that he did, but he was still at times looking to get at people and create something.
“I think he’s had other experiences now, and Mikey is at the stage now where at 24, it’s quite a big period for him because he wants to establish himself somewhere as a starter, whether that is going to be here or elsewhere.
“I want to ensure that both from the training perspective I’m seeing enough for him to warrant that opportunity in the games, and let him see if he can earn that.
“You don’t just get presented it, you’ve got to produce, but he knows he’s at an age where he wants to be a first team regular.
“I think towards the end of the window there was maybe a rush and maybe him feeling he needs to get out on loan, but at that stage, he hadn’t trained with the team.
“What I said to him was stay to January and prove you can be fit and get yourself to a level where you can train every day, and then make yourself available. The last thing you need is to go out now - you’re not fit - and then you go and break down again.
“As much as you want to play, you have to be available to play, and you have to be able to train to play.
“Thankfully, over these last couple of months, we’ve seen that. He’s not missed a day’s training. He’s finding that robustness and getting up to game speed.
“He’s earned his chance to come in and play, but it’s a big squad, and that’s what I’ve got to look at.
“But certainly, he warranted the opportunity to come in and affect the game.”
Both Forrest and Johnston will come into Rodgers thinking for tomorrow night’s game against St Mirren, but having allowed his players a day off on Sunday to rest and recover, he is unlikely to be making too many changes to his starting XI.
“These are things you think about,” he said.
“You think about the fluidity of the team while also knowing you need players who are robust. When you’re playing for a big club, you need a robustness. You’re going to be playing twice or three times a week.
“Of course, we’ll make some little adjustments and changes. And we have some players who have come in who aren’t used to that level of intensity and regularity of the games.
“But certainly, we won’t be making wholesale changes.”
