James Forrest’s standout performance for Celtic against Dundee has reignited discussions about his sparse use this season, with former striker Kenny Miller expressing confusion over the winger’s limited playtime.
Despite Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers previously describing Forrest as the ‘best winger in terms of quality’ at the club, the 32-year-old has predominantly been a substitute throughout the campaign.
His contribution in Celtic’s latest outing against Dundee, scoring two goals, has amplified questions regarding his role.
In a discussion on the Scottish Football Podcast, Miller highlighted the disparity between Rodgers’ praise and Forrest’s actual time on the field.
“It absolutely baffles me why James Forrest isn’t playing as much. I know Brendan Rodgers sees him every day in training. But when you hear him making that statement about him being the best winger, you think ‘right ok, your wingers haven’t really produced this season’ so you wonder why Forrest has not played more.
“He comes on in the semi-final and makes such a difference. He is so clever a footballer, James, he gets and creates goals. He is getting on now at 30-plus but he is still really direct and can get at the full-back and create things. So I have found it amazing that he has not played more.
“When he does play, I think he got a hat-trick earlier in the season and last week he comes into the game and is the game-changer. His two finishes [Dundee] were absolutely sensational. The first one he has a split second to think. That is not an easy technique if you have all the time in the world to think. He just reacts and it is in the back of the net and then he goes and gets the decisive goal as well.”
With Scotland suffering many injuries, there have been some calls for the winger to rejoin the international set-up. It’s certainly achievable, but he’ll need to keep up his impressive form until the end of the season.
He’s really stepped up these last few games, and with four games left of the league season, and a cup final, his contributions are going to massive in these next few games.
