GOLDEN BHOY FORREST INSISTS HIS STORY HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN
Forrest is finally convinced to tell tale of his career with Celtic so far but insists more chapters have still to be written
JAMES FORREST has a book coming out. Or at least a book about him. It carries the perfectly sensible title of Homegrown Hero, but Bashful Bhoy or Reluctant Reflections could have been equally appropriate and alliterative alternatives.
Forrest breezes past landmarks in his Celtic career with the same ease as he foxes full-backs. Medals stack up season after season. Big-game goals have become the norm for him.
Only Scott Brown has made more European appearances for a Scottish club than Forrest, who set up Mohamed Elyounoussi for the clinching second goal in Thursday night’s impressive 2-0 win over CFR Cluj.
He has amassed a formidable catalogue of achievement, but the academy-raised winger still retains an endearing allergy to the spotlight on a personal level. Talking about himself or his achievements was not a prospect that immediately appealed.
He eventually agreed to the biography proposal because, at his request, a donation will be made to Celtic FC Foundation’s charity Christmas Appeal for each copy sold.
Telling his story will, therefore, do some good, but Forrest (below) is abundantly clear that it is only the tale so far. At the age of 28, there is plentiful scope for further chapters of success to be penned.
Asked if he felt like a Celtic hero, Forrest grinned: ‘It wasn’t me who came up with the title of the book!
‘It’s strange in that I’m still playing. I’m not finished and I still want to play loads more games. I want to keep adding success and not just rest. I’m not going to stop working hard just because I’ve got a book out.
‘About four to six weeks ago, the club came to me and asked me about doing a book. And right away I said no!
‘I didn’t really want to do it. But they talked me into it and my family said to me that it would be a good thing to do. ‘We are still doing wee bits of it before it is finished. I don’t really like talking about myself, but it has been good talking about the experiences of the last ten years and when I first came through. It is good to do it for the charity foundation and that is a big part of it. ‘I am only 28 so it felt a bit strange, but they wanted to talk about the fact I have been in the first-team for ten years. ‘I focus on games that are ahead all the time. You aren’t thinking about a game that took place back then but it has all been really positive to look back. You get a lot of good feelings and you never know, maybe that can help with games coming up. It is amazing how much I remember.’
Forrest made an immediate impact at first-team level by scoring on his debut in a 4-0 win over Motherwell in May 2010.
The injury issues that followed in subsequent years have long since been consigned to the past, leaving him as one of the most decorated and reliable players to have pulled on a Celtic shirt.
‘It wasn’t until a year or two after I’d made my first-team debut that I was able to go into the first-team dressing room,’ he recalled.
‘When I was coming through there were a lot of big players and characters in the dressing room, which helped the younger boys. It was an exciting time. Scott Brown was there and there were a lot of British boys who helped bring the younger lads out of their shells as we were a little quieter.’
Forrest savoured the display against Cluj, which sent Celtic top of Europa League Group E, ahead of hosting Lazio later this month.
Progression into the knockout stages could potentially set up a meeting with Arsenal. And place Forrest in direct opposition to former colleague Kieran Tierney.
The £25million left-back gained rave reviews when making a European debut for his new club in their 4-0 thrashing of Standard Liege.
‘I was asked about that before the draw was even made,’ said Forrest. ‘I hear he did really well for Arsenal. All the boys here knew how well he would do because we saw how he performed every day in training.
‘It’s great to see him playing so well for them. Hopefully, he can play even more games and if we both get through our groups it would be okay, yes.’
Tomorrow brings a very different challenge. From the high of continental success amid the flashing lights and raucous noise of Celtic Park, Lennon’s side must make sure they stir themselves again to face Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
One point is all that separates the nine-in-a-row-chasing champions from Rangers at the top of Premiership. Forrest is determined that they stay in front heading into the international break and isn’t fazed by the artificial surface in West Lothian.
‘I trained on astro four nights a week when I was coming through
the youth ranks at Celtic,’ he said. ‘You play some games on it, too, so you do get used to it.
‘You would rather play on grass. But it shows you the different types of game you have to be ready for and Sunday will be difficult. Last year we played them once there and it was 0-0 so we know it’s going to be a hard game.
‘The manager and the coaching staff will make sure we’re ready. Over the last couple of years we’ve become better at adapting after playing a big European game to playing a game in the league that might not be considered as big, but the three points are still vital.
‘We want to make sure we win the league. We have a big squad, so everyone will be ready. It will be a different game to Cluj, but we have to make sure we’re at our best.’ lTo pre-order Homegrown Hero, go to www.celticfc.net/store