OPINION
Celtic midfielder James Forrest has been at the heart of the club’s success this season. There is no denying that – his consistent displays are one of the main reasons why they are running away with the Scottish Premiership at the moment.
He has racked up an impressive 48 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops this season, and for good reason. No player has that amount of appearances in one season unless he is considered special by the manager.
That has no doubt been the case, and that will certainly be the case next season. However, it is his recent display for Scotland that should be particularly worrying. The 27-year-old was a far cry from his usual self in the abysmal 3-0 defeat to Kazakhstan on Thursday, and this will surely concern Neil Lennon.
The dazzler is usually the driving creative force behind Celtic’s mainly consistent displays. He has really come into his own this term, and that is down to previous boss Brendan Rodgers putting some faith in him. Despite all of that, Thursday afternoon was possibly the worst display we have seen from Forrest this season.
He was crowded out at times, and he often lacked conviction in front of goal for his country. The fact that he only mustered up one chance shows that his form has rapidly declined in this match.
Many Celtic fans will pray that this performance was just a fluke, and that it will not happen again. The last thing they need is for one of their star players to suffer a serious dip in form, especially with the Old Firm derby approaching on March 31.
It was a real shame to see Forrest perform in the way that he did, as it is safe to say that it did not do the rest of his efforts this season any justice. Fingers crossed that this is a serious wake up call for him, as he was just not himself on Thursday.