Celtic legend James Forrest has insisted he is looking forward to learning everything he can from our new assistant coach at Celtic, Harry Kewell. Kewell joined the boys and Ange for the first week of training on Monday morning as he got straight to work on helping prepare and get the players in condition for the season’s kick-off on 31 July.
Forrest and Kewell share a kinship in that they are both cut from the old fashioned type winger; direct, pacey and downright dangerous to play against. Kewell used to spend his days tormenting teams up and down the English Premier League – firstly at Elland Road with Leeds, then onto the Kop at Anfield. Playing against some sensational opposition in his day, Kewell is a Champions League winner with Liverpool under Rafa Benetiz in 2005.
Spending most of his career in England’s top-flight, Kewell was also like Forrest in that he was plagued by injuries towards the end of his career which somewhat diluted his output during games. Forrest is no different as he has struggled in recent times with hamstring issues and muscle problems. But, he is already looking forward to being fresh and rejuvenated for next month and is happy to learn from his new Aussie coach.
Speaking to Celtic TV about Kewell, Forrest said: “It’s still early days of working with him at the moment, but when I was growing up he was a big name. When you look at who he’s played with and where he’s played, he’s had a really good career. I think for myself, other wingers in the team and for everyone in the group, we will all be looking forward to working with him. I look forward as well to see if there’s anything that I can learn from him from his experience about my position.”
As he heads into his twilight years, James has undoubtedly lost that half-yard of pace due to sustained injuries and will have to tailor his game accordingly. That is where Harry comes into the picture. Kewell will know fine well the implications of his injury record on his body as he has also been over the course with this during his playing career. So who better than the Australian to help Jamesy adjust his style so as to get the best out of his ability and his body these days? It could be a masterstroke by Ange if he can tweak James’ game and milk the last good years of football he has left in him. And Harry Kewell could be paramount to that.
Paul Gillespie
