Liel Abada praises 'amazing' Celtic star for taking him under his wing

By Lewis Laird

October 17, 2022

Celtic winger Liel Abada has praised Hoops veteran James Forrest for taking him under his winger within the Parkhead dressing room.

Having not featured regularly for Ange Postecoglou‘s side this season, Forrest was handed an opportunity by the Celtic boss on Saturday afternoon against Hibs.

And the Lennoxtown academy graduate certainly took it with both hands, scoring a hat-trick and his 100th goal for the club in the process.

Although Forrest might have been finding time on the pitch a little harder to come by, there seems to be no doubt that the winger was still playing his part at the club.

The reaction of his teammates following his hat trick at the weekend told the whole story, as Celtic stars lined up to praise the one-club man.

One player who has been directly influenced by Forrest is young attacker Liel Abada, who takes up the same area on the pitch.

Speaking in the aftermath of the Hoops’ 6-1 win, Abada opened up on how much he has learned as a teammate of James Forrest’s and praised the different aspects of his game younger players can learn from.

He said [Sun Sport]: “Jamesy is a really good friend, and he has been able to teach me so much. He has been at the club for a long time, has played a lot of games and scored a lot of goals. I can learn so much from him, and I was so happy to see him score a hat trick.

“I speak with him all the time, and he gives me a lot of advice. Everyone in the team is good friends and are really together. All the older players, like Jamesy, are amazing in helping the younger ones as well as the new players.

“What I admire most about him is his movement and his technique. I’m happy to have him as a teammate, and hopefully, he can keep scoring for us.

“He has a great mentality. You have to keep working at it every day and in every game. This is the most important thing.”

No better example at Celtic for our young wingers than James Forrest.

Of course, game time for young players at a club like Celtic is incredibly important for development, and we have seen the benefits of that with a player like Liel Abada last campaign.

However, there are also other aspects the winger can benefit from, including the experience of his Celtic teammates, and there is no better example to learn from than James Forrest.

The wideman has spent his whole career at Celtic, playing alongside some fantastic players and working under several different managers.

Forrest has played at the highest level of club football on a number of occasions over the years, and has also become one of Celtic’smost successful players in terms of trophies won.

So, there is plenty that a talented youngster such as Abada can learn from an experienced attacker like James Forrest, who is continuing to show how he can contribute to Ange Postecoglou’s squad.

In other news, Former Celtic hero Shunsuke Nakamura set to retire after incredible 26-year career.