Moving back to Celtic was a no-brainer for Forster
IT FEELS LIKE COMING HOME, DECLARES ON-LOAN KEEPER
FAMOUSLY dubbed The Great Wall by the Spanish Press after keeping Barcelona at bay one night seven years ago, the last thing Fraser Forster contemplated was his career ever hitting one.
By the time Southampton paid Celtic £10million for his services in 2014, the giant Geordie was already an England cap. A spectacular start to life in the south coast brought with it the prospect of many more.
A broken knee cap sustained towards the end of his first season was damaging in many respects but proved to be less of an obstacle to the keeper’s ambitions than a rapid turnover of managers.
Ronald Koeman and Claude Puel stood by him. Less so Mauricio Pellegrino, Mark Hughes and Ralph Hasenhuttl.
By the time Neil Lennon’s number flashed up on the 31-yearold’s phone on Monday, a 3-0 defeat to West Ham in May was the sum total of his exposure to first-team football in 20 months.
‘It was a strange spell,’ Forster reflected. ‘I had a bad knee injury and that can happen to anyone.
‘Then, coming out of the team when I’d played for about ten years
before that, was hard. Football is tough. There are highs and lows from one week to the next.
‘You go from being man of the match to doing your knee and being out for ten months in the space of a week.
‘It’s tough, training all week without having a purpose. When you have the game to focus on, then it’s easy.’
The big Englishman badly missed that rush of adrenaline which comes with awaking on match-day.
When Lennon called to inform him that a return to Glasgow was his if he wanted it, there was no decision to make.
‘When I heard of Celtic’s interest, I said: “Yes, I want to go, I want to go”,’ the man from Hexham said with a smile.
‘The two clubs got it sorted and it was an absolute no-brainer for me. I couldn’t wait to get in the car and get up to Scotland. I drove all the way from Southampton.’
Having been a mainstay of the first side Lennon built, you suspect walking the 430 miles over hot coals to complete the reunion would have been seen as a minor inconvenience.
‘It’s lovely. It feels like I have come home. I am buzzing,’ added Forster.
‘It does feel a bit like I have come full circle, coming back to work with the manager again.
‘For any player, when you play under someone who believes in you, it makes a big difference.
‘He has done so much for me in my career and I will always be grateful for that.
‘He gave me a chance the first time at Celtic and it’s great to be back working with him again.’
Forster won three titles and two Scottish Cups in his four years at Parkhead after making the move from Newcastle, initially on loan in 2010.
But he truly announced himself to the world the night in 2012 that he defied Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.
‘The Barcelona game probably stands out,’ he recalled. ‘But we had so many great times over the years.’
Among them was also the record 1,256 minutes he went in Scottish top-flight football without conceding a goal.
Jonny Hayes, then at Aberdeen and now Forster’s team-mate at Celtic, was the man who ended that run, and he can expect to be taken to task.
‘It was a mishit,’ Forster laughed. ‘Jonny overhit his through ball!
‘It was just a fantastic spell for us. I was proud of it when we did it and, looking back, I’m still very proud of it.’
Such laudable achievements were discussed frequently between the ex-Celtic enclave that assembled on England’s south coast.
‘It’s unbelievable what Virgil (van Dijk) has done,’ Forster said of the now Liverpool superstar. ‘Every time he plays, he just cruises through games. He looks as if he is playing against players two years younger than him at Under-16 level.
‘He was fantastic at Southampton when he came and obviously there is talk of Ballon D’Ors now.
‘Victor (Wanyama) was there, too. He moved to Tottenham and also did well, although he has had injury issues.
‘He was straight on to me after the AIK game. He’s on at me and saying keep my (No 67) shirt warm for a bit!’
The small matter of an imminent move to Club Brugge is likely to delay Wanyama returning to Glasgow any time soon — but you wouldn’t doubt the Kenyan’s sincerity.
‘For any Celtic player, when you come here, you just fall in love with the club and, once you leave, that still sticks with you,’ Forster explained.
‘Every Saturday, I would check
their result and I would watch all the televised games, especially those european ties. I’ve been supporting the club because, once you’ve been a part of it, you become a fan as well.’
Now confident of being over his own injury troubles, the irony of the challenge he faces at Parkhead isn’t lost on him.
Five years back, after Forster got his move south, Celtic turned to none other than Craig Gordon to replace him.
then the same age as the englishman is now, Gordon defied those who felt two years out of the game because of injury would have finished him.
eleven major honours later and having resumed his scotland career, only a fool would assume the 36-year-old is done.
‘Football is mad,’ added Forster. ‘It’s swings and roundabouts all the time. What Craig did was fantastic — to come back after not playing for two years and just play at all was impressive, but to then compete at the level he has done, is ridiculous.’
Forster’s respect for a keeper he was in direct opposition to when england faced scotland at Celtic Park five years ago is boundless but he clearly hasn’t returned to Glasgow with the intention of warming the substitutes’ bench.
‘I believe the best is still to come from me,’ he insisted. ‘I’m only 31, which is young for a goalkeeper. I’m in my prime, really. I still feel that there’s plenty in the tank, especially after the gap year I’ve just had.
‘But you look at what Craig has come through and he was older then than I am now, so there’s no reason why, if I look after myself and do the right things, that I can’t play on for a good chunk of time.’
Having won the first of his six caps while a Celtic player, Forster feels he can now add to his tally.
‘It’s all in other people’s hands,’ he said. ‘all I can do is try to play as well as I can here. Obviously, it would be great if that happens but, first and foremost, I just want to get back playing and enjoying my football.’
Like Lennon, he hopes to finish a job he helped to start. the winner of three titles in his first spell, it’s not escaped his notice that the hoarding of silverware in his absence has put the club at a historical juncture.
‘It would be lovely if we are sitting here at the end of the season and have won the league,’ added Forster. ‘the club has had a fantastic few years and done so well over the last eight.
‘It didn’t surprise me that they won a treble treble because I know the quality that’s here.
‘We had a great team when I left and also the people who work within the club. there are a lot of born winners and people who really strive for success.
‘equally, to win a treble treble is an unbelievable achievement.
‘It’s real credit to the lads and everyone who was here.’