James Forrest has described how honoured he would be if he can win the Scottish Premiership title on Saturday afternoon, which would take him to 26 honours for Celtic, making him the Hoops’ most decorated player.
Forrest is currently level with Bobby Lennox on 25 trophies, which he equalled in December against Rangers by winning the Premier Sports Cup. Forrest’s longevity at Celtic has been incredible; he’s been seemingly written off more times than any other Hoops player over the last 20 years and, in recent weeks, has looked as fresh as ever despite an injury layoff since December.
Forrest is the ultimate professional, and in recent years, his career at Celtic has rightly received the credit it deserves. However, he still arguably remains underrated—one of the greatest wingers to ever wear the Hoops.
While the title of greatest will always belong to Jimmy Johnstone, Forrest deserves every bit of recognition, and more, for everything he has achieved and the vital role he’s played in Celtic’s success since his breakthrough in 2009.
However, Forrest remains humble and, speaking this afternoon, paid tribute to the Celtic greats he has surpassed on the club’s all-time honours list.
He said: (Sky Sports), “You see all the names there. As I said, the amount of great players that have played for this club is unbelievable.
“Everywhere you go there are Celtic fans and the support you get is incredible. I’ve played here so many times and I’m still enjoying it as much as ever.
“I’m just going to keep working hard to be here as long as I can.”
It’s a brilliant message from Forrest—he’s not going anywhere. That much has been clear in recent performances against Kilmarnock and St Johnstone, where he rolled back the years with driving runs through the opposition defence. At 33, some might consider him old for a winger, but that simply doesn’t apply here. He’s as effective as ever.
While he may not have the explosive pace he once had, that’s arguably made him an even better player. He’s had to work harder to maintain his fitness and prove to Brendan Rodgers that he’s still at the top of his game—and he’s done exactly that.
The crazy question with Forrest is—if it hadn’t been for injuries, just how much more could he have achieved?
Even with those setbacks, he’s now on the verge of becoming Celtic’s most decorated player. That legacy-defining title win could come as early as Saturday at Tannadice against Dundee United, a moment that would further cement his place in the Celtic history books.
