“It was a massive win for us,” James Forrest said afterwards. He had collected the ball from Odsonne Edoaurd well into the 6th minute of time added on by Bobby Madden and skipped past a despairing tackle, got to the byeline and found the French striker with a perfect cut-back.
Odsonne did the rest and there was carnage in the Celtic end away at the other end of the old stadium as the net bulged to signal the “massive win” that effectively ties up the title.
Nearest rivals the Rangers now need to win ALL of their games – they have failed to get a win in any of their last four games – and that includes beating Celtic at Parkhead and Ibrox and still hope that Celtic falter in two other games. The Steve Davis needing snookers gag gets funnier every time it’s mentioned.
“It’s unbelievable. We had half-chances earlier but it shows the resilience of the boys that we managed to keep going and get the goal at the end,” Jamesy said to the club’s site.
“Last minute goals mean so much to the fans and everyone involved. You could see that from the reaction and those moments really help bring us all together.
“Odsonne’s done well to slip me in and he was there for the return. It was a great finish and really composed. It sometimes gets a little frustrating when things aren’t going our way but we persevered, and getting the win is a big boost for the changing room.
“The manager said at half-time that he’d take that as long as we kept pushing. He highlighted how important it was for us to get the win before the international break and we’re delighted with the three points.
“We can go into it high in confidence and feeling good. When we come back we have a massive game and we’ll return raring to go for the last part of the season.
“It’s massive to have that 10-point gap, but we just need to focus on ourselves and take it game by game,” he said.
“Teams aren’t going to make it easy for us and we’re going to have to go out there and win it.
“We want to get over the line and get there as quickly as we can.”
In his press interviews after the dramatic 1-0 win at Dens Park, Forrest was eager to talk about the impact that returning manager Neil Lennon has had since taking over three weeks ago following the departure of Rodgers & Co to Leicester City.
“It just feels right him being at Celtic,” Jamesy said.
“He’s been in a couple of weeks now and it feels as though he’s never been away. It was massive that he came in. We had a big game against Hearts and then a tough game away to Hibs in the Cup.
“Over the couple of days between the manager going and the new manager coming in, it all happened so quick, but the club has done really well to get the new manager in.
“He’s been there before and it was good to do that quickly to get everyone in the changing room settled. We’ve won three out of four since and it has been tough games, as well.
“He’s been a massive character at Celtic and done loads for the fans, so I think the club acted really quickly and it’s worked out well.
“He’s done really well and all the boys have bought into it straight away. You saw in the last minute there that everyone is buzzing and there’s a real togetherness in the squad and that’s definitely not changed.
“That’s a big boost. We want to push on now and make sure that stays and last-minute winners certainly help to bring everyone together.
“You saw everyone on the bench coming on the pitch and the fans, it was unbelievable getting a last-minute winner.
“The manager said at half-time he would take that as long as we kept going and kept pushing and we’re delighted with the three points.”