FORREST IS BACK TO THE FUTURE
Hallmarks of the Rodgers era in Lennon’s blistering Bhoys
ON an unforgiving October afternoon at Pittodrie, Celtic marked the end of daylight saving by turning back time. If there were those among the away support that still viewed the permanent reappointment of Neil Lennon as a retrograde step, they were silent as his impressive side ruthlessly dismantled Aberdeen 4-0 in their own backyard.
For James Forrest, the relentless nature of Sunday’s display, which saw all four goals plundered before the break, was a throwback not to Lennon’s maiden spell in charge at the Glasgow giant but to the heady days of Brendan Rodgers’ first season in charge.
Under the Northern Irishman, Celtic plundered 31 goals in their opening ten league games of the Invincible campaign of 2016-17, including hitting Kilmarnock for six, putting five past Rangers and notching ing four against Aberdeen. .
Lennon’s Celtic have now scored 32 goals in their opening ten games, hitting ten without reply against Ross County and the Dons since the setback of a shock 2-0 loss at Livingston.
And Forrest believes the fact there is a bona-fide title race this season — with Celtic only ahead of Rangers on goal difference — is bringing out the very best in the treble Treble winners.
‘There are still a lot of players who were here under Brendan Rodgers who are still here now,’ said Forrest.
‘The manager now is still really attacking and positive as well, so there are similarities there (with Rodgers’ first season).
‘The manager always wants us to push on, even if we are winning at half-time.
‘Does it make a difference that we are in a title race? That’s spot on! It makes you raise your game when the league is really tight.
‘You know you can’t afford to put in a bad performance because you don’t want to be chasing.
‘That definitely keeps you on your toes when you come off the back of a European match or a cup game. You know you need to get a result in the league. You don’t want to fall behind.
‘But it’s great to be involved in this team and you can see the confidence, collectively and individually, in our recent results and performances.
‘After we lost at Livingston we have come together and got three wins in a week (against Ross County, Lazio and Aberdeen).
‘ We have a lot of attacking players here and everyone is hungry for goals. We want to score as many as possible and if it helps the goal difference in the league, that’s good. ‘But we are never going to think that because we have won tthe league before that (experience) is going to make it easier for us. ‘You have to earn it by putting in the performances to make sure you are in the right place at the end of the season.’
In a display branded ‘red hot’ by Lennon, the outstanding moment came when Forrest ended a terrific 13-pass move by cracking home a fine third goal.
Describing the team goal as the ‘ i cing on the cake’, Forrest admitted he needed to score to avoid egg on his face after nicking the ball off the toes of team-mate Mohamed Elyounoussi.
‘It was a really good move and I didn’t want to mess it up because the boys put so much effort into it,’ he said.
‘Mo turned and was maybe going to shoot but he was off balance. So I was under a bit of pressure and I was just buzzing to score and put the finishing touch to such a brilliant team goal.
‘It’ s always tough against Aberdeen but we didn’t give them a chance to get into the game.
‘It’s maybe unfair to criticise Aberdeen as we were all really at it. It was a joy to play in the game.
‘We were unbelievable in the first half but we can’t get carried away because we have another game on Wednesday night (at home to St Mirren).
‘It can all change quickly, so we need to keep our levels high.’
On a personal level, Forrest was transported back in time via the performance of Jeremie Frimpong on Sunday.
A summer signing from Manchester City, the young right-back capped a performance boasting the energy levels of a Duracell bunny with his first Celtic goal.
It took the still baby-faced 28-year-old Forrest back a decade or so to his own time bursting on to the scene at Celtic Park.
‘I feel old,’ he said with a grin. ‘It is strange because I actually still feel young but I also know that I am one of the older ones here now. But it is great to see young boys coming through into the team and making a statement.
‘Jeremie’s only 18 but he has come in and done really well. He has settled in well and he’s a really likeable guy.
‘He got Man of the Match in his first game against Partick Thistle in the Betfred Cup and he’s played really well whenever he has come into the team.
‘But I don’t think any of the boys are too surprised because we have all seen him in training. People outside maybe did not know him but straight away he impressed everyone. We could all see his quality right away.
‘He is confident but a likeable boy. It is a credit to him the way he has come in from Manchester City and settled really quickly.’
James Forrest was speaking to promote a new t hree - year partnership with the BeCordial Hotel Group to become the Celtic women’s team’s new shorts sponsor.