WHEN James Forrest was subbed off with 25 minutes to go in Celtic’s emphatic 6-1 win over Hibernian on Saturday, the 31-year-old could reflect on a productive afternoon. Not content with merely scoring a Premiership goal for the 14th year running, the winger went on to bag a hat-trick to bring his overall tally with the Glasgow club to 100.
It is a fine achievement for the Scotland internationalist, who serves as a walking example of what can be achieved during a lengthy stint at Parkhead. When the 31-year-old does go on to eventually hang up his boots, he will retire as one the most decorated players in Celtic’s history.
That longevity has served as an inspiration for the man that replaced Forrest on Saturday afternoon. Liel Abada, the Israel internationalist, was brought on for the remainder of the resounding victory over Hibs and although he had a shot or two himself, the 21-year-old was unable to get on the scoresheet himself.
The right winger isn’t overly concerned by that fact. Instead, he insists that so long as his team-mates are able to pick up the goal scoring mantle, as they did against Lee Johnson’s side, he remains satisfied with their performance.
“It was a good win and I think it was important to get our confidence back in the league after losing to Leipzig,” Abada said. “I’m happy about the score and we could have scored more.
“Sometimes in football you miss chances and don't score goals. I’m not worried about statistics. For me it is all about doing the job on the pitch.
“It doesn't matter if I score or other players score, as long as someone scores and we win every game.”
He continued: “We have a very good squad full of very good players. Every player in the team can be in the line-up.
“One game I score, one game Jamesy will score, one game Daizen [Maeda] will score, [Giorgos] Giakoumakis, Kyogo [Furuhashi], [Sead] Haksabanaovic – this is really good because this is our job.”
Forrest stole the headlines at the weekend and Abada was pleased to see his team-mate get his share of the limelight. The two players might well be vying for the same position in Ange Postecoglou’s starting line-up but the Israeli feels he is benefitting from the one-club-man’s experience.
“Jamesy is a really good friend and he has been able to teach me so much,” Abada said. “He has been at the club for a long time, has played a lot of games and scored a lot of goals.
“I can learn so much from him and I was so happy to see him score a hat-trick. I speak with him all the time and he gives me a lot of advice.
“Everyone in the team is good friends and are really together. All the older players like Jamesy are amazing in helping the younger and new players.
“What I admire most about him is his movement and his technique. I’m happy to have him as a team-mate and hopefully he can keep scoring for us.”
Abada believes that Forrest’s trophy-laden career shows what can be achieved at Celtic. He was just a child when his team-mate made the first of his 451 first-team appearances for the champions -scoring against Motherwell on his debut back in 2010 – but even then he harboured ambitions of playing the professional game.
“I think I was at school, I’m not sure,” Abada said. “I think I had just started to play football.
“This has always been my dream. I am really happy to be here and I am really happy to play for Celtic.
“This is a really unbelievable club with unbelievable fans. I am really happy to be here and hopefully I play a lot of games here.”
After leaving his homeland in summer 2021 to sign for Celtic, Abada is now happy and settled in Glasgow’s east end. On the pitch he has developed a strong understanding with his team-mates and off of it, he is getting to grips with the language after arriving in Scotland without being able to speak English.
His compatriot Nir Bitton, who departed Parkhead this summer after a lengthy stay at the club, helped the attacker acclimatise to his new surroundings and Abada says that he still keeps in touch with the midfielder.
He added: “Nir helped me a lot last year because it was my first time coming to Scotland and I didn’t speak English.
I didn’t know the language but he always looked after me. It really helped me last season. We are still friends, we still speak via Facetime and I wish him all the best.”
