Last season couldn’t really have gone any better if we are all totally honest with ourselves. Sure, if you were being pernickity you could argue we should have done better in the European knockouts.
But that particular issue had haunted the club for years now and been the burden of many a coach. In reality, the first year of Ange Postecoglou’s reign as manager of the football club was a booming success. A League and Cup double was miles away from where anyone guestimated this time last summer.
With the wheels set in motion for another cinch Premiership campaign and two domestic cups to fight for – coupled with an automatic Champions League group stage spot as the fruits of our labour – we are in a fantastic place currently. One of the key elements to this turnaround has been the squad togetherness and team bonds that have developed in Ange’s first season.
James Forrest sat down with Celtic TV today to detail this sensational chemistry that has set us on course for another epic year of football watching the Hoops.
Jamesy said: This summer has been different because usually, I’ve only had a week or 10 days off, so having four or five weeks off was good, but it makes you come back really looking forward to getting going again. Last season we were still signing players into the last week of the window, I think it was the biggest turnaround in a squad that I’ve seen since I’ve been here.
“This squad did settle in last year and I think that can only benefit us this season. We now have a base and a core group and over the years I think you get the most success when you have the majority of the squad there and knowing each other. It’s still quite early to think of the Champions League, but I think when the qualifiers come around it will then sink in that we are going straight through and then we will get excited. There’s a lot of exciting games and moments that people will look forward to this season.”
Forrest himself hopes to play a key part in this pre-season, getting fit and helping the younger players along as a veteran at Lennoxtown now. He added: “There’s been a few young boys up training with us this week which is good, it gets them in with first-team players and kicks everyone on and keeps us working hard. It’s good getting a change of scenery as you’ll be at Lennoxtown all year.
“When you’re away you’re spending the whole time with players in the squad, so it’s beneficial in every department. Once you get a couple of weeks of training under your belt, you start to get your fitness from games, so for everyone in the squad they will be looking to play as many minutes as they can in the pre-season games to get ready for the season.”
James will understand fully the implications of this longer break of time given to Celtic as a consequence – or perhaps even a luxury – of how successful we were last season. He sounds raring to go and if Postecoglou is to keep his promise of coming back bigger, better and stronger, then we will need everyone fit and firing as we head into this exciting new era at the club.
Watch James’ full interview with Celtic TV below:
🎥 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲: 𝗝𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁
Watch our special interview with James Forrest as he reflects on returning to pre-season training!
To watch the interview, you must subscribe to #CelticTV which will get you ALL SIX pre-season games!#SuccessNeverRests 🍀 pic.twitter.com/VLoWUhjSzD
— Celtic TV (@CelticTV) June 29, 2022
Paul Gillespie
