Experience will be key in this season’s battle for the reclamation of the Scottish Premier League title.
Last terms’ inexplicable loss of the trophy can be narrowed down to many reasons; inept tactics were a large part of that, alongside poor recruitment over the years which led to Celtic’s worst campaign in over a decade.
However, a major unspoken reason was the loss of key dressing room leaders to spur the Bhoys on.
Mikael Lustig, Craig Gordon, Fraser Forster and Scott Sinclair have all departed the club in the last few years, leading just Scott Brown and Callum McGregor as the only natural leaders in the team.
Ange Postecoglou recognised this void and within just two months of his arrival has plugged that gap. The signings of Joe Hart and James McCarthy on Tuesday afternoon have instantly boosted that – with 340 and 272 Premier League appearances each respectively, the pair bring a wealth of calmness that the Celtic squad was crying out for.
And, speaking to the Glasgow Times, Celtic veteran James Forrest has paid testament to their experience, claiming the pair will be a huge helping hand in continuing the status quo.
Joe Hart’s presence was massive, even when he came in for his first training session. 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. 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.
With Celtic having signed youngsters like Liel Abada, Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide – alongside the current talent pool of David Turnbull, Mikey Johnston and Stephen Welsh – it is imperative that these players are signed. But Forrest claims it is even a boost for the senior players, as it brings a togetherness to the dressing room.
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 McCarthey 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.
