Celtic's man for all seasons maintains 16-year record

James Forrest with the trophy

With the timing of a drama king, in the dying seconds of trophy day in the east end of Glasgow, James Forrest added another milestone to the heaving pile of accolades in his storied Celtic career.

For 15 straight seasons, the veteran winger had scored for his club. But as time ticked on at Celtic Park, even his greatest supporter must have doubted his ability to make it 16.

He'd already played 31 games this season and no joy. He'd racked up almost 1,200 minutes in four competitions and still that goal remained elusive.

Normal time elapsed on Saturday. Nothing. One, two, three added minutes played. Still nothing.

But hang on. In the 94th minute, Forrest delivered and sent his fans into raptures.

Rarely has a goal to secure a late draw been greeted as thunderously by the home fans. It wasn't the goal so much, it was the goalscorer.

"Relief. I was just buzzing," said Forrest, when asked how he felt when he scored.

"I don't think you could have written it any better. Everybody has been wanting me to score and get the record, so I'm just happy to do it for everyone.

"It's hard to put into words. I'm just trying to enjoy every last minute of playing for Celtic. It's an unbelievable career and I've absolutely loved it and I hope I still have a few big moments and trophies like this.

"When you get days like this it just makes you want more."

A constant and a standard-setter

Forrest is now in possession of his 26th winners' medal as a Celtic man, a new standard after Bobby Lennox's old mark of 25 stood proudly for 45 years.

Saturday's late strike brought his goal tally to 109. He has won 13 leagues, seven Scottish Cups and six League Cups.

He's played with 188 different Celtic players.

Over the years, he's counted other wingers into the club and he's counted them out again - Derk Boerrigter, Patrick Roberts, Daniel Arzani, Maryan Shved, Sead Haksabanovic, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Marco Tilio, Luis Palma.

That's an exhaustive list. There are others.

As age has hit, he's had to take a back seat to the more recent crop of achievers - Liel Abada, Jota, Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Gerrit-Kuhn.

Of those 500-plus games, more than 150 have been as a substitute - an illustration of his patience and his professionalism.

His stats reveal a serial winner but, looked at in a different way, they also show you a ferocious competitor.

There have been injuries, shiny new signings, lots of time spent on the bench and rumours he might be on his way out, but he's still fighting.

He has these purple patches that have proved irresistible to managers.

In the last five seasons his league starts have been in single figures but he's kept going. He's started 20-plus league games in only five of his 13 completed seasons but his influence off the bench has been important, as Saturday proved yet again.

Celtic have too much class for everybody else in this league and Forrest is the living embodiment of their grit.

He's their most decorated son in terms of numbers of trophies but there's dog in him, too. You don't see it in his personality but it has to be there.

"The season before he made his debut I had him in the development team," says his first Celtic manager, Neil Lennon.

"He was a standout player. He had everything. Brilliant technique with both feet. You could play him left, right, you could play him through the middle.

"He had that great change of speed. He was electric - one of those players that get you off your seat, even at that age. Going past people. Low centre of gravity. Not afraid of anything. From when I first saw him play, I loved him."

No-one - the humble Forrest chief among them - is going to claim anybody from this era can hold a candle to those from Lennox's peerless time, but these are special times for him.

For Brendan Rodgers, he's been one of the few constants across both of his spells - him and McGregor. Standard-setters in their own ways.

"Jamesie is very, very, very quiet but his leadership comes in what he does, how he carries himself," says Lennon, "He's a manager's dream."

'Still hungry, still winning'

When did this all begin?

A few minutes from the end of a league game against Motherwell on a Saturday in May 2010 - 14 years and 361 days ago - Forrest got on the end of a flick-on from Marc-Antoine Fortune and planted a left-foot shot into John Ruddy's net.

For the 18-year-old, it was a debut to remember. Nine minutes, one goal.

Looking back at the footage, what stands out is Forrest's youth - he could be mistaken for a 12-year-old.

There's also the names of some of his bygone team-mates - Edson Braafheid, Zheng Zhi, Morten Rasmussen, Josh Thompson. Relics from another age.

There's something else about that scene that reminds you of how long Forrest has been on the road, though. The attendance at Celtic Park that day was 24,000.

The first of Forrest's 523 games and his 108 goals for the club played out in a stadium that wasn't even half full.

The club, as much as the player, have come a long way. There was no trophy in that season, 2009-10, Rangers having won their second title in a row not long before.

There wasn't even a cup final. Hearts put them out of the League Cup and Ross County the Scottish Cup. Celtic played 10 games in Europe and won two.

Tony Mowbray lost his job along the way. Lennon was appointed manager in a bid to bring back the thunder.

"Look at his career and it's been so successful but there's been tremendous lows as well," says Lennon. "Missing out on big games through injury or not being selected. He's had his lows but he's just kept himself on an even keel. Nothing fazes him.

"He's not one to kick the doors in when he's not in the team. Some players don't accept that but he seems to be like, 'OK, this is my role at the minute but when I'm called upon, I'll be ready'. And he's always ready.

"And I still really enjoy watching him play. He's still one of the most exciting players to watch when he's in full flow. As the game has evolved, he's evolved with it. He's a sort of passing winger now, but still with a goal threat.

"I don't put him on a pedestal with Bobby Lennox or any of the Lisbon Lions but he's definitely a man who has done great things in his own right."

At 33, soon to be 34, there's still no sign of him being sated by all the success, which is probably the very characteristic that has put him in the history books.

A version of this piece first appeared in April