My tally is now 12 medals with Celtic ... but winning silverware just makes you hungry for the next one
SAYS JAMES FORREST
I think it’s only Broony who’s played here for more years than me now
JAMES ForrESt has become an unsung statesman of the Celtic dressing room. A serial winner of trophies.
His 12 major honours consist of six league championships, three Scottish Cups and three Betfred League Cups. His haul of silverware places him 14th on the all-time list of Parkhead trophy winners.
He might never top the 25 winners’ medals captured by fellow Ayrshireman Bobby Lennox.
Yet, with Scott Brown already ninth on the list with 14 major honours, he could gatecrash the top ten by the end of this season at the age of 26.
Europe is a similar story. In European Cup/Champions League games, only Brown (69) and Billy McNeill (51) have made more Celtic appearances. toss in Darren Fletcher and Kenny Dalglish, and the winger is fifth in the list of all-time appearances by Scottish players.
An early contender for Scotland’s player of the year, Forrest surpassed his best ever goals tally in a season before Christmas.
Impressive facts and figures suggest he is no longer the kid with blistering potential. It took time and patience, but Celtic’s investment in Forrest is finally paying off.
‘I think you sign your first professional contract at around 17,’ he ponders. ‘I’m 26 now, so it’s a good few years I’ve been here.
‘A couple of the other boys are still playing lower leagues. You have Gregg Wylde and Michael o’Halloran as well at my age — but with different teams.
‘It’s been great and I just want to keep going and get more success.
‘I remember when I first signed at the age of nine. We were training a couple of nights a week and I can remember my mum and dad taking me up to sign. It was so long ago — but I can remember everything.
‘We trained at Hamilton Palace Grounds then we moved up to Barrowfield four nights a week. then, at 18, we were up at Lennoxtown.’
By his own admission, he has never known anything else. Harry redknapp had a look when he was manager of Spurs.
there was a lengthy contract stand-off resolved quickly when Brendan rodgers arrived.
through it all, however, Forrest has shown unexpected staying power. others have come and gone and he’s still there — winning trophies and racking up the landmarks.
‘I think it’s only Broony who has played here for more years than me now and I’m still here,’ he concedes. ‘After the League Cup final, my tally is now 12 medals. I didn’t know that at the time but when you are at a big club, you want to win trophies and cups and play in the Champions League.
‘But winning every one just makes you hungry for the next one. You are only ever as good as your next medal at this club.’
the chances are he won’t have long to wait. Despite a stutter or two in December, Celtic remain eight points clear at the top of the Premiership.
And Saturday’s home Scottish Cup fourth round tie with a Brechin City team marooned at the foot of the Championship is unlikely to thwart ambitions of another domestic treble.
Unsung and taken for granted for much of his first-team career, Forrest is quietly becoming a Celtic legend.
His performance against Bayern Munich at home in the Champions League was his best in a green and white shirt.
And his true quality might only be fully appreciated when he is no longer there.
Under contract for another 18 months, he plans to prolong his stay beyond the summer of 2019.
‘In football, you never know — and Celtic are always looking to better the team. You need to be at it the whole time.
‘If not then they will sign new players and you can be easily replaced.
‘I’ve only known Celtic and I’d love to stay here as long as I can. If you get complacent then it’s dangerous. Football can change so much.
‘I just want to keep working hard and doing well with Celtic. I want to keep winning trophies with Celtic.’
towards the end of ronny Deila’s time, he held fire on signing a new deal.
‘It was hard because I had six months to go on my contract but I’d only ever been at Celtic. I’d never known anything else. I always hoped I’d stay. that’s what I wanted.’
the omens didn’t look good when rodgers shook his hand on day one and asked if he had been somewhere else on loan.
‘Everyone has ups and downs in their career — but the season before he came in, I played the most games I’d ever done, so he was joking a bit.’
Nevertheless, Forrest took the hint.
Patrick roberts arrived to great acclaim. Undeterred, the Scot hung in there.
Now comes Lewis Morgan, the £300,000 signing from St Mirren. For Forrest, this stuff is now a fact of life.
‘It’s happened with so many players in my position since I came through, and international players. You need to believe in your own ability that you can play here.’ the Forrest trophy haul hints at more than pace and explosive ability. to survive at Celtic needs a different kind of strength.
In 17 years of pulling green and white shirts over his head, other players have toiled to cope with the expectation and demands of life at a large club. Most fell by
the wayside or found a career at a lower level.
In contrast, the Scotland winger has shown the survival instincts of Bear Grylls.
‘There were a lot of boys up to the age of 19 who did the same as me — but you do need that wee break, for you to work hard and for a manager to see something in you.
‘Sometimes people made a debut and didn’t make it.
‘When you get into the first team, you just need to show you’re good enough to be there because when you’re young, others are more experienced and have played internationals.
‘You can’t be shy and feel as if you don’t belong here.
‘Everyone always used to say every year in the age groups that not many players made it here at Celtic.
‘I’m glad that I have, but it’s been hard work.’