DON’T EVEN BOTHER ASKING... FORREST IS GOING NOWHERE
Rodgers warns English to forget hopes of luring Scots goal hero south
DESPITE 300 appearances for Celtic and 14 domestic trophies, it took five goals in 72 hours to propel James Forrest on to a different level.
The first Scot to score two or more in back-to-back internationals since Denis Law in 1963, Brendan Rodgers has no doubt clubs from England and beyond will now be taking an interest.
Less than eight weeks since the 27-year-old put pen-to-paper on a new contract tying him to Celtic until 2022, however, Rodgers is quick to deliver bad news to potential suitors. Forrest has never shown the slightest inclination to leave Glasgow.
‘I think there will be interest but it’s not as if he’s just popped up out of nowhere,’ said the Celtic manager.
‘James has been on the scene for a while now, played a lot of games and had big experiences.
‘I’ve got no doubt, having worked in the Premier League, that he can play at that level. Absolutely 100 per cent, there would be no problems there.
‘Some teams down there are playing one game a week where you can recover and rest. So James would thrive, no question.
‘But I’ve never, ever seen one glimmer of him wanting to be outside of Celtic. He’s just signed a new deal, too.
‘At the time when I first came in and we had the chat, there was a couple of things around him — but all he wanted was a bit of reassurance and a sense of feeling valued.
‘There’s never been a notion that he’s anywhere happier than here.
‘He’s obviously had a great couple of years and signed another deal. I think he’s one who strategically values the worth of himself as a player and now people are really seeing that, not just with Celtic.’
The Forrest career looks destined to be broken down into three sections. A promising beginning, a disappointing middle section and the likelihood of a fulfilling end.
Appreciation for the winger’s talents has been grudging at times. Both for Celtic and Scotland.
He played 24 games for the national team and failed to inflict a scratch on his opponents. Alex McLeish tried a 3-5-2 formation and played Stephen O’Donnell on the right flank instead.
With the Kilmarnock full-back one of nine call-offs for the games against Albania and Israel, the Scotland boss was running short of options when he cut Forrest loose in a 4-3-3 formation. The effect was devastating.
In the Hampden stand for the dramatic 3-2 win over Israel, Rodgers took note of a small, unexpected development.
‘There was a really nice moment at Hampden when all the supporters cheered for him,’ the Celtic manager continued.
‘At first I heard it a little bit and I thought: “There’s a pocket of Celtic supporters somewhere here”. But then everyone started to sing and that was a really nice moment for him.
‘He was very unfortunate not to have had a hat-trick in both Scotland games, which would have been an incredible achievement.
‘But it’s not surprising at all because his club form has been great and I’m absolutely thrilled for him. I was proud to be at Hampden to see him scoring his goals and making the difference.
‘Certainly, I can only judge from what I’ve seen close up, training with him and seeing him in the games. He’s been brilliant for me and he’s only going to get better and better.’
As a coach, Rodgers excels in taking a player and improving him. Most of Celtic’s best players in the last three seasons were already at the club when he arrived and became better.
And Forrest seems to follow the pattern.
Before the current manager arrived, the explosive pace and talent honed in the club’s academy seemed destined to fizzle and burn out.
Neil Lennon loved him and Ronny Deila once compared him to Lionel Messi. Yet a series of persistent and mysterious injuries doused the expectation until Rodgers arrived and asked him on day one if he’d been on loan. He hadn’t.
‘All the credit is down to him,’ insisted Rodgers. ‘As a manager, though, you create an environment which allows players to develop — 95 per cent of them will improve and you don’t want the other five per cent anyway.
‘James, like the majority of players, wants to get better so they take the instructions and the responsibility is then with them to carry them out.
‘When I came here, he looked like he was going to leave. He wasn’t sure. I tried to reassure him that we could improve him as a player, so he re-signed and he’s grown since then.
‘The big thing is that he needs to make himself available to train, which means you need to be fit, you need to look at your lifestyle, eat the right things, rest and recover because we train to the maximum.
‘Doing that gets you into a rhythm and then, when you play, you’re in a great position; you’re confident because you’ve prepared well. ‘James is a terrific boy. In my time here he’s trained just about every single day, he’s super professional and looks after his diet… you don’t see anything about him doing stupid things. ‘He’s very consistent and the last week will have given him a huge boost and Scotland will benefit from that because he’s a top-class player.’ As manager of Scotland, Gordon Strachan bemoaned the lack of a Gareth Bale or a Robert Lewandowski. The absence of an explosive goalscoring individual made the national team a grim and slightly depressing watch at times. Rodgers stops short of his predecessor’s Messi comparison but admitted: ‘International football is all about having that technique, that tactical idea plus speed and power — and he’s got all of that.
‘Listen, you’ve had some wonderful players up here in the past but now that he has his first international goals — and I was surprised that he hadn’t scored for Scotland before — he can really kick on.
‘I think because of James’ personality and how he is, he just drifts along really.
‘But he’s one of these players who at the end people will look and say: “Bloody hell, look what he’s won and look how many games he’s played”.
‘He could end up one of the most decorated Celtic players of all time. He’s already in the top ten, in terms of trophies and he’s got more to win. He’s a brilliant asset for the club and he really is a joy to watch.’