James Forrest shares what Matt O’Riley used to tell him at Celtic that Brendan Rodgers repeats

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James Forrest is hoping to push Celtic to further success this season.

Many big games are coming up for Brendan Rodgers, including Celtic’s trip to Aberdeen on Wednesday night and the League Cup final against Rangers later on in the month.

Usually, these matches bring pressure, and yes, donning the Celtic colours always provides that, but the team is in such a good head space that you wouldn’t blame the players for being so relaxed and calm right now.

No-one illustrates that better than anyone else than one-club man Forrest, who recently signed a new contract and is looking to become Celtic’s most decorated player this season.

The 33-year-old would have experienced many high moments during his time at Parkhead, as well as low moments, which would have all been played in a pressure cooker like no other in Scotland.

But Forrest shares there is something Matt O’Riley used to say at Celtic and Rodgers also repeats that is a reminder to all inside the dressing room.

James Forrest shares Matt O’Riley used to tell him to have ‘fun’ and ‘enjoy yourself’ at Celtic

O’Riley will go down as one of Celtic’s best players of the modern era and someone who played with so much freedom.

The manner in which he could make the ball talk and get fans off their seats was a joy to behold.

But Forrest shared, just like Rodgers, amid all the pressure of playing for Celtic, the duo would always say have ‘fun’ and ‘enjoy yourself’, as he told his pre-match press conference.

“It doesn’t matter what game you are playing, the pressure is massive,” said Forrest. “The amount of fans that come to our home games or away games. It’s mental throughout the full season.

“When you sit back a wee bit when you are older and realise how big the club is, you know that you aren’t going to play forever, so you want to enjoy it as much as you can and definitely it has been right up there for me.

On playing with freedom at Celtic given the pressure: “I can always remember Matt O’Riley, he always used to talk about having fun and enjoying yourself,” shared Forrest. “I think the manager says as well. When you are playing with a smile on your face, you can see it with all the boys now, they are feeling confident. I think that’s why the team is doing really well. Everyone is enjoying the hard work and the games. You see with the performances and results as well.”

O’Riley’s stats at Celtic

Celtic fans were gutted to see O’Riley leave, but it’s a move he deserved and a platform he is worthy of playing on.

The Premier League is seen as the most competitive and demanding league in the world and O’Riley is perfect for it.

That freedom he spoke about playing at shows in his game and it also showed during his days as a Celtic player.