Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he started James Forrest against Livingston last weekend because of the astroturf pitch at the Tony Macaroni Arena. Despite getting the nod, Forrest had to come off early doors due to Joe Hart’s red card.

It was the first start of the season for the veteran attacker, and he would’ve been disappointed at how things panned out. He did get the nod in the first place, though, thanks to his familiarity with the surface at Livi’.

Rodgers revealed that there were players he’s had in the past who weren’t comfortable with the Astro park. He said (Daily Record): “For some players, when I was here before, they were spooked by the astro. They’ve gone out, for some reason they’ve realised it was astro and then they couldn’t play! Then I’m having to change my team 45 minutes before the game. So I don’t need to do that. The team I picked was guys who know the environment.”

This seems a sensible decision from the Irishman, who still has a lot of faith in Forrest. He said: “It was a shame he had to come off so early but Jamesy knows what I think of him. Like I said, I know whenever I put him in, I can trust him in certain situations.”

Over the course of the season, there will be many more chances for the 32-year-old. He knows he won’t get as many opportunities as others, but he is more than capable of taking the ones he does get, as we saw at some points last year.