JAMES Forrest has probably lost count of the number of games he has played against Dundee since making his first team debut for Celtic against Motherwell as a baby-faced teenager way back in 2010.
But the winger knows he will savour being on the pitch against the Dens Park side in the William Hill Premiership match at Parkhead this evening every bit as much as all of the others.
Forrest is 33 now and is in the final year of his contract. He is still performing to a high level for the Glasgow giants at home and abroad and is valued greatly by his manager Brendan Rodgers. But he is not a regular starter these days and is unsure what will transpire when his current deal runs out in the summer.
Will he be offered an extension? Or will he depart the club he has been at, man and boy, for 22 years? It remains unclear. The Scotland internationalist, though, is not overly concerned about what his future holds. He is simply relishing still being a part of things as Celtic pursue more silverware.
“I am just concentrating on being involved with the team,” he said. “I am enjoying it as much as I ever have and I’m just focusing on the here and now. Maybe I’ll start thinking about it afterwards, towards the end of the season. I’m just enjoying it at the moment.
“I’ve not done my coaching badges, but I’ve spoken to players who have and there’s maybe time to look at it in the next year or so. But I don’t want to take my mind off playing just yet.
“During that spell when I wasn’t involved in the team, I was maybe wondering if I’d ever play for Celtic again. So now it’s a case of not taking anything for granted. You look at the end of last season, being involved, winning the league and the Scottish Cup. Even going away in pre-season again was great.
“I’m not saying it’s a second chance, but you maybe felt like you might be done. I think that’s why I am really enjoying it. Is it a case of soaking it up? Absolutely, 100 per cent. That spell out, I’ve probably never had that in my career before. I was thinking, If you get back in, just make sure you really enjoy it and take it in’.”
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Forrest made an important contribution when he returned to the fray towards the end of last season – he helped Celtic to come from behind and win the Premiership for the third consecutive season and beat Rangers in the Scottish Cup final.
Those successes took his haul of medals to 24 – one more than European Cup-winning captain Billy McNeill and one shy of the record total managed by the legendary Lisbon Lion Bobby Lennox.
He can match and overtake his fellow Ayrshireman this term if things go according to plan. But his place in the pantheon of Parkhead greats is the farthest thing from his mind. Beating Dundee and maintaining his side’s advantage over nearest challengers Aberdeen and Rangers in the league table is all that concerns him.
“It’s been a really good season so far, even going back to pre-season and the results and performances we had. But we’ve really kicked on domestically and in the Champions League. It’s really enjoyable to be part of it.
“The most important thing is we concentrate on ourselves. If you look at what other teams are doing, you can take your eye off what you need to do. The manager and staff always drill that into us here. No matter who we are playing, we need to take care of our own jobs.
“You saw that in the games after Europe. They were hard games, the manager changed a few players, but we’ve still got the results. It’s good for everyone involved that the manager is showing trust in his squad.”
Forrest, who is now in his 16th season as a Celtic player, has been joined in the starting line-up in recent weeks by the likes of Auston Trusty, Alex Valle and Luke McCowan and he feels the new boys have been every bit as important to their form as the old guard.
“All of the players have settled in off the park,” he said. “We could see from the first day in training they would settle in on it. The staff make everything clear so it’s easy to settle quickly. You can see that in the way they are performing. It’s good for the players who were already in the squad, as it pushes everyone to perform as well.
“It’s a busy schedule. The likes of Cam [Carter-Vickers] and Greg [Taylor] have missed the last few games, but the team is still performing. That’s good for them as well. If we were maybe struggling then there might be pressure on them to get back. But there are players here who can be more than capable when called upon.”
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McCowan, who scored on his first start for his boyhood heroes in their 3-0 win over Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday, has particularly impressed the veteran. Forrest is keen to get back in the Scotland squad for the Nations League matches against Croatia and Poland next month and thinks his compatriot is capable of representing his country in future too.
“The first training session Luke had was the day before the Rangers game and right away he came in and looked really confident,” he said. “You could tell he was really buzzing to have signed. He’s just kicked on. He’s settled in the changing room and you see his performances on the park.
“Could he be one of the bargains of the season? Definitely. You’ve seen it already with the impact he’s made from the bench and it was good for him to get a start the other day. He’s a Celtic player now and doesn’t look out of place. He’ll want to keep going and build on this.
“I think if you asked Luke, he’d say the most important thing for him right now is to concentrate on here. But if he keeps doing what he’s doing then he’s definitely got the ability, confidence and character to be involved with Scotland. He’s made the step up to Celtic and I would have no doubts about him if he got called up.”
