James Forrest knows this could be his swan song season at Celtic so he’s determined to savour every second.
Especially as it wasn’t so long ago he feared he’d never kick another ball with the club he loves. Forrest is out of contract at the end of this – his 16th – campaign and with his 34th birthday in the summer, his future is uncertain.
The attacker would rather keep his mind on the present though. Forrest has seen it all in his trophy laden time at Celtic, with 24 major honours in his account and the potential this term to catch and perhaps even overtake Lisbon Lions legend Bobby Lennox’s record haul of 26. All of that is on the back burner for now, as Forrest is determined to make the most of his time – regardless of how long it lasts.
He said: “I’ve been asked about beyond this season a few times but right now I am just concentrating on being involved with the team. 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.
“During that spell when I wasn’t involved in the team, I was maybe wondering if I’d ever play for Celtic again. 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. 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 percent.
“That spell out, I’ve probably never had that in my career before. I was thinking if I get back in, just make sure I really enjoy it and take it in.”
There’s a lot to enjoy about Celtic’s flying start to the season. The Hoops are unbeaten in the league and bang in the frame for the knockout stages in the Champions League. Forrest knows the signs and he could sense in summer Celts were gearing up for something special.
He said: “It’s been really good. If you look back to pre-season, the result and performances, 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 that 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 knows his role in the group is now as one of the chief support acts, but there’s plenty of scope for action as boss Brendan Rodgers needs to rotate with his side fighting on so many fronts. The Hoops have quality in depth though and even players coming in to the side can hit the ground running.
Players like Luke McCowan. The midfielder could face his former side Dundee and Forrest is convinced the playmaker could turn out to be one of the bargains of the season following his £1m deadline day switch from Dens. McCowan notched at Fir Park at the weekend and has stood out whenever he’s been handed the chance. And it might not be long before Scotland comes calling.
Forrest said: “All of the new players have settled in off the park, and we could see from the first day in training they would settle in on it. The first training session Luke had was the day before the Rangers game and right away he came in and looked really confident.
“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 and 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’ve got no doubts about him if he gets called up.”
Forrest hasn’t given up on his own national team hopes after being forced to sit out the last gathering with a slight knock. In the meantime he’s determined to keep Celtic motoring and he would love a repeat of his heroics against Dundee last term – where his sensational double on Tayside secured a crucial victory in the title run in.
Forrest said: “Yeah, I’ve got fond memories of that one. It was one of the important games of the run-in, so it would be nice to do it again this week.
“It was a good one. I think I started that game after scoring in the semi-final against Aberdeen, so I went in full of confidence. It was great to help the team by getting a couple of goals in a big win.”