James Forrest

Get him back, get a new manager and new team in and they will get the best from him.

With the right signing in Forrest position as well, he could be used with better rotation and really keep him fresh.

 

We've missed him and it's meant we've had to stick to the diamond much more, even when it had been easily nullified.

 

The sooner he is back in the team the better and the “brucie bonus “ is it will get Christie off the right wing with his * deliveries.

 

It’s written in the stars for him to come on and score the winner on that * horrendous spud field that is Tannadice.

 

Be good to finally see some natural width in midfield again. Players who can beat a man and hit the byline. Since I can remember, of my lifetime anyway, thats been the celtic way.
Id love to see the new manager ditch the 4-3-3 and go back to having width instead of relying on our full backs to provide it.

 

Good to have you back James .

 

Only good thing today was seeing him back.

 

Great to see him back.
He looked a bit tentative, which is understandable

Took a little dig, got a few minutes under his belt and beat his opponent a couple of times.

Fingers crossed, the club manage him sensibly until the end of the season.

 

Understandably rusty..

Hope he hasn't been rushed back..

 

Only bit of good news this season, welcome back Jamesy

 

Unpopular opinion.. get him to * if we get any money for him.. are people forgetting his performances before he got injured? Absolute *.. more interested in fixing his hair than heading a ball..

 

For all of his stats, he has the heart of a mouse. Just what we don't need at this time. If we can get other players in that can cover his deficiency in that area, then maybe he can still be an asset. Sadly after the utter atomic fuckbomb of a season, we are scrambling around in the dark now. Brutal.

 

It'll be good to have a bit of natural width to the team but I'm not getting carried away, he was taking pelters for his level of play like everyone else before he went out injured.

 

He had been carrying the injury for a while though

 

If we are to win the league next season he will be an absolutely vital part of it.

 

Should give us better balance-and may bring best out of Kenny-and also Christie.

 

Which is another reason we should learn to stop asking players to play through injuries just because we know they’ll do it.

 

In a week where things will come too soon for James Forrest the underlying feeling of this campaign is that he returned too late to rescue Celtic.

Steve Clarke will name his Scotland squad on Tuesday with the likelihood that it is too soon for Forrest to make an international return. The anticipation will be that the remainder of the season will be sufficient for him to be fit in time for the European Championships while the game against Rangers next weekend is also asking too much of the 29-year-old.


An ankle fracture sustained at the end of September in a Europa League qualifier against Riga proved far more complicated than first anticipated. The end result was a season that has effectively passed him by; and how Celtic missed him.

If there was an ever a complacency about what Forrest offers Celtic his absence will have reinforced his worth. In his last three seasons no-one has been more instrumental for Celtic in the final third; 171 appearances in that trio of campaigns yielded a return of 54 goals and 54 assists.


With goals missing of late not just for Celtic but from those who will be expected to be representing their country this June, Forrest’s return will at least offer some comfort for Clarke.

“The Finals are in sight and I think the whole country will be buzzing for the summer and I certainly am,” said Forrest. “I missed the October and November camps and managed to speak to him both times which was good because sometimes when you are injured you can feel like you are not a part of it. But speaking to him made me feel better so it was good of him to do that.”

The drama of Scotland’s penalty shootout against Serbia that ended a 22-year exile from major international tournaments was watched from a distance by Forrest. The likelihood is that he will be expected to offer a more compelling contribution this summer.

“It was nerve wracking [watching it],” said Forrest. “I had just had my operation and was back home it was definitely nerve wracking, what with Serbia scoring in the last minute.


I was absolutely delighted with the boys. I was texting them all after the game – it was some achievement. You want be part of the big moments but I played my part in us getting there and it was great to watch us kick on.”

For now, though, it is domestic matters that still take precedence. Assuming the game survives the political concerns around it, Celtic will host Rangers next weekend. The fixture could never be described as having nothing at stake given the rivalry but there is the small matter of wishing to add another grim stat to a season that has been full of them for the Parkhead side.

Not since 1992 has any Celtic side been forced to stomach three straight home derby defeats, a fate that could await them on Sunday as they face up to Steven Gerrard’s side. The Ibrox men have been victorious on their last two visits to the East End.

Forrest joked that he would settle for coming off the bench to score the winner – “100%”- and the expectation is that his 12 minutes, his first since September, that he got at Tannadice last week is insufficient to prepare him for a starting place for the game.

“That is one for the coaches,” said Forrest. “The sports scientists and the physios have worked me really hard to keep my fitness levels up. Another week or twos training is only going to benefit me. But I have only played 10-15 minutes so starting against Rangers would maybe be a tough ask. I am feeling better and better all the time though.





“It is good being back in training with the lads and was great getting on the other day against Dundee United. Now I just need to make sure I keep progressing in the right way.

“I have been running since the start of January so my fitness does feel good but it is totally different going into games than it is working with the physios and the sports scientists. I feel good and it is really about getting game time to get up to speed.

“Everything you do now is tracked and monitored. That is part of the rehab, the couple of weeks before you go back into training you need to start hitting as close to what you did before.

“That has been a good marker for me because I am getting up to the speeds I was at before.”

As Forrest keeps pushing to get back to the levels of sharpness he has showed in recent campaigns he will do so knowing that there will be someone new to impress soon.

“Whatever direction the club take it will be for the best for everyone and until that decision gets made everyone: players and staff, need to keep ourselves in a positive mind frame for when the new manager does get appointed,” he said.

“We still have the Scottish Cup to play for and half a dozen league games.”

 

Should've been on by the hour..

Could see he had a spring and was itching to get involved in his limited time..