Former Celtic star and BT Pundit John Hartson has said he dreams of playing with someone like current Hoop James Forrest but that the winger should be fuming with his situation with Scotland.
The 27-year-old was left to play just over 20 minutes of his country’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Israel before playing the full 90 in the friendly with Portugal, having scored four goals in his last club game with the Bhoys against St Johnstone.
Hartson says that the 24-cap attacker should be having serious questions over his international standing, insisting that he is the perfect winger for a forward and that the former Wales star would have loved to have played alongside him.
He told the Evening Times: “I mean, what else do you have to do to get into the team? If you score four goals and are one of the best players in the country but can’t get a start for a game against Israel then I think you might be tempted to go and have a think about the situation.
“As a former striker, I have to say that I would have loved to have played alongside James. He would have laid goals on a plate for me – and a lot of them too. He has pace, he can get past a man and then his delivery into the back post is always spot on.
“Without question James would have fit right in and I would have loved playing alongside him. For me, it is really simple. You make sure that your best players are on the pitch.”
Opinion
Forrest seemed to do everything that he possibly could to try and force his way into the Scotland setup in his final game with Celtic before the international break, netting four goals in 45 minutes. However, he was left to play a bit-part role in the competitive clash against Israel, while he played the full 90 minutes in the dead rubber against Portugal. Will he be upset about where he stands in the international setup? Perhaps, but at the same time his focus needs to be entirely on Celtic, and if he continues to dazzle with the Hoops then Alex McLeish will have no option but to throw him in when Scotland are back on duty. Hartson is absolutely right in saying that strikers would love to play with Forrest and looking at his stats for the season, with seven assists and six goals across all competitions, he is able to chip in with some goals as well as setting them up – although Brendan Rodgers will be hoping that his four goals against St Johnstone can fire him up for the rest of the campaign.