James Forrest has hailed the double signing this week of goalkeeper Joe Hart and midfielder James McCarthy and reckons that the two experienced pros joining Celtic from the Premier League will make a significant difference to the Celtic dressing room this season.
The former Tottenham goalkeeper of course made his debut last night in the 4-2 win in the Czech Republic against FK Jablonec and his superior presence in the Celtic goal was there for all to see, despite losing a few goals in the game.
“Joe Hart’s presence was massive, even when he came in for his first training session,” Jamesy said. “I think they are great signings by the club and they’ll definitely help the changing room.
“It’s exciting that players of that quality and experience are coming in. It’s natural to take time with a new manager with different ideas. There are a lot of quality players at the club and a lot of the young boys have done well,” the winger added in his chat with the media, as reported by Glasgow Times. “But you just feel a difference with these two signings straight away. That’s not putting pressure on them because they’ve dealt with pressure all their careers.
“It’s just a massive boost. It’s really good for the senior lads. I think they’ll push us on. You look at their experience. We’ve got a lot of young, quality players but sometimes you need that experience.
“You could see it right from that first training session. You could hear him straight away, he was talking his way through the whole session. He’s a presence in the dressing room and you need that to bring out everyone in the team.
“We’ve not met McCarthy yet but we’ve all seen the experience he’s got from playing in England and for Ireland. He’ll be a great addition to the squad,” Forrest added.
James McCarthy will be speaking to the Celtic Fan Media this afternoon and we’ll be there. Watch out for the video this afternoon.
