TALKING CELTIC

Jcan hit 40 goals this season. Forrest, like most others in the Scottish game, has been blown away by the impact the 20-year-old has made since his summer move north from Fulham. He believes that his teammate is getting even better each week under the guidance of manager Brendan Rodgers, and he doesn’t think he will be affected by the frenzied speculation over his future.

“It’s great to have a player like that,” Forrest said. “You give him a chance and you know he’ll score. He can score goals out of nothing.

“He’s a great player and we’re really lucky to have him. He j ust seems to keep scoring. Even when he’s not been in the game for a while, he gets half a chance and he’ll score with his first touch.

“It’s great to have that in the team. When you know things aren’t going your way, if he can get a chance you know he will put it away.

“He’s on 26 goals now and he could easily hit 40. I know he’ll just take it a game at a time. Hopefully he gets more.

“[The speculation] has not affected him at all. The boys have been giving him a bit of stick but he gets on with it.

“You wouldn’t think he’s only 20 with the way he acts. That’s two hat-tricks in a row now. It’s a huge credit to him and the players around him for creating the chances.

“His all-round game is improving as well. His linkup play was spot on [against Inverness] as were his goals. He gets a lot of assists. He’s such a good player for the team and as an individual.”

What has i mpressed Forrest even more than Dembele’s obvious natural talent is his willingness to buy into his manager’s philosophy of constant

selfim - provement. “You could tell as soon as he came in that he was a worker,” Forrest said. “He’s always in the gym trying to improve.

“He’s not let anything affect him – whether that be being linked with other clubs. He’s just focused on playing with Celtic for the rest of the season.”

The win over Inverness was executed with the kind of clinical ruthlessness that showed just how seriously Celtic are taking the Scottish