FORREST IS NOW READY TO BLOOM
Celtic possess one of the best wingers in Britain, says Lustig
LAST season ended with the sublime skills and uncertain future of Patrick Roberts foremost in the thoughts of both the Celtic management and supporters.
The adoration directed towards the Manchester City loanee was understandable given the artistic flourishes he produced. Roberts became the very definition of a crowd-pleasing talent as he gilded the final months of an extraordinary unbeaten domestic campaign.
Mikael Lustig would argue, however, that it became too easy for the valuable contribution of Celtic’s other right-sided winger to drift from the mind. In James Forrest, he believes the Parkhead outfit already had one of the best in the UK. One whose form in the first half of last season was critical to the club’s success.
With Roberts now back in England, and destined for a wealthier environment than Scottish football, Forrest is in line to be a key component of Brendan Rodgers’ starting line-up for Friday’s opening Champions League qualifier against Linfield.
It is timely, then, that he appears to be a player blossoming in confidence once again.
Saturday’s 9-0 rout of what was effectively a Shamrock Rovers reserve side was every bit as much of a mismatch as the overloaded scoreline suggests. Even so, Lustig could still see much to admire in the direct manner in which Forrest went about dismantling the Dubliners.
A clever assist to help the right-back begin the demolition was followed by a lovely solo finish of Forrest’s own. All in all, it served as a timely little reminder of his worth.
‘People forget about the start of last season,’ said Lustig. ‘When you look back, it was James who was playing and scoring goals. ‘He was really good for us — as was Paddy when he came into the team later on. A lot of people talk about Paddy Roberts and forget what James did. For me, I think James was probably one of our best players up until the winter time. ‘Now he is looking really sharp. Everyone knows that, when he is on his game, he is one of the best wingers in Britain. ‘James was brilliant last season. Hopefully, he can do the same this year because everyone knows the quality he has. ‘Sometimes, it is really nice to play with him. You just give him the ball and he does the rest. He will be a really important player for us this season. ‘He is 26 now, so he hopefully has good years ahead of him. It feels like he has been in the game for a long time and he is an experienced head these days. But you can see his confidence is there as well. He is looking really sharp.’ Competition is now provided by Jonny Hayes (below). The former Aberdeen man replaced Forrest after an hour on Saturday and duly claimed a first Celtic goal in his home city. ‘We have different players and different options,’ said Lustig. ‘Jonny brings us something else. He is maybe a little bit more direct and he likes to cross the ball with both his left and right foot. ‘It’s great to have that. We know what Paddy brought to us last season, so it has been really good to get a player like Jonny in. He is a good guy and has adapted really well to the team.’ Now in his seventh season as a Celtic player, Lustig is well acquainted with the pressurised process of trying to reach the Champions League group stage.
Last year’s success with Rodgers at the helm — following two seasons of disappointment under Ronny Deila — has heightened expectations. Lustig feels that Celtic are well prepared for this latest quest, but is sceptical about whether the task gets any easier.
‘No, it is going to be really hard,’ he insisted. ‘There have been games in the past when we have struggled, but everyone knows we just need to make sure the result goes our way.
‘It’s always difficult. Last season, we didn’t play our best football in Astana away, Gibraltar away or Be’er Sheva.
‘But as long as we get the result, we are happy. And I think we are more ready this year than last time around.
‘Last year, the gaffer was new. At the time, he didn’t know exactly where he wanted to play all the players. Now he obviously knows us better and we know him better. That should help us.
‘Also, the game in Dublin was a good session, it’s always nice to score some goals. We played three games before this one and only scored two goals.
‘I think we are getting fitter and fitter ahead of the competitive action. We have a couple of days to get our batteries fully charged and then we will be ready for Friday.’
Having opted against taking a ticket allocation for the Linfield game, Celtic will have no official support inside Windsor Park.
‘It will be unusual, especially as when we play in domestic football — either home or away — we always have a really good support,’ said Lustig.
‘Of course, we are going to miss the fans. But we have also played away games in the past where the away crowd are really noisy, so it will be okay.
‘I don’t think I have ever played in a game before without any fans behind us. It will be something different.’
Scott Brown seems likely to recover from an Achilles knock in time for Belfast. The Parkhead captain was substituted after 30 minutes at the Tallaght Stadium, but Rodgers later claimed it was a precautionary measure.
That was the only note of concern on an otherwise carefree day. Doubles from Scott Sinclair and Stuart Armstrong, along with further goals from Moussa Dembele — making his first start of pre-season — and Tom Rogic completed the blitz. It will, however, be Hayes who remembers the occasion with most fondness. Plenty of family and friends were there to see him convert a Sinclair cross in the final ten minutes. The 30-year-old now hopes Champions League football could help him return to Dublin more regularly as part of Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland side. ‘Yeah, but it’s still a long way away,’ said Hayes. ‘We have six tough games between now and getting there. ‘We’re under no illusion how hard it’s going to be but, of course, it’s the best competition in the world. ‘No doubt if I get into the team and play in that competition, it will help me going forward with the gaffer for Ireland.’