No let-up as Forrest plans to keep motoring on for club and country

AFTER a hard-running shift at wing-back in Rome, James Forrest could be forgiven for craving a rest.

Yet, so long as his graft is rewarded with moments like his stunning equalising strike against Lazio on Thursday night, the winger is happy to keep ploughing the hard yards.

Last season’s Player of the Year has already notched up 26 appearances this term and is likely to have a key role in Scotland’s imminent double-header against Cyprus and Kazakhstan.

So today’s match against Motherwell at Parkhead might feel like it’s time to take a step back — but Forrest is eager to go again.

He said: ‘We are playing with so much confidence that everyone wants to be involved in every minute of every game.

‘The team is flying at the moment, so it’s great to be involved in.

‘I have had so many good nights at Celtic Park in Europe but, away from home, I don’t think there has been anything like that. You look up at those fans after the game and it means a lot.’

The challenge now will be to readjust ahead of the visit of a team that has been flying in this campaign.

‘We have played Motherwell already this season and we know they are a good team and are doing well,’ added Forrest.

‘The Livingston game apart, we have always managed to do well after European nights, but this will be a tough one.

‘The league is important — we want to move into the international break with a good performance and three points.’

Forrest also has one eye on the possibility of qualifying for a major tournament with his country for the first time.

The traditional qualification route may already have been blocked off. However, Forrest sees the final two group matches against Cyprus and Kazakhstan as important preparation for the play-offs.

No player did more than the Celtic winger to help Scotland through the Nations League preliminaries, his five goals against Albania and Israel securing the spot in those key matches in March.

‘Those games were the best I have been involved in with Scotland,’ he said. ‘I remember the changing room after the Israel game. It felt so positive and I had never really seen it like that before.

‘Then, we had a couple of bad results which just showed how things can change quickly.

‘There has been a lot of negativity but, as last year showed, it can turn quickly.

‘These two games will be valuable for the manager to work on things as we look ahead to the play-offs.’