Why Forrest is Celtic's man for all seasons

James Forrest has become Celtic's most decorated player And so, after standing imperiously for 45 years, Bobby Lennox's Celtic trophy record has been felled by a Forrest. At Tannadice, on the day Celtic put the finishing touches on another Scottish Premiership title, there was an extra moment of history for James Forrest, the winger now out on his own in the club's silverware pantheon. Twenty-six is the new mark, an achievement that was a decade-and-a-half in the making. Forrest has made 524 appearances, scored 108 goals, has now won 13 leagues, seven Scottish Cups and six League Cups. He's played with 186 different Celtic players. Over the years, he's counted other wingers into the club and he's counted them out again - Derk Boerrigter, Patrick Roberts, Daniel Arzani, Maryan Shved, Sead Haksabanovic, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Marco Tilio, Luis Palma. That's an exhaustive list. There are others. As age has hit he's had to take a back seat to the more recent crop of achievers - Liel Abada, Jota, Daizen Maeda, Nicolas Kuhn. Of those 500-plus games, more than 150 have come as a substitute, an illustration of his patience and his professionalism. His stats reveal a serial winner but looked at in a different way they also show you a ferocious competitor. There's been injuries, there's been shiny new signings, there's been lots of time spent on the bench and rumours that he might be on his way out, but he's still fighting. In the past five seasons his league starts have been in single figures, but he's kept going. He's started 20-plus league games in only five of his 13 completed seasons, but his influence has been important. He has these purple patches that have proven irresistible to managers. Celtic have too much class for everybody else in this league, but Forrest is the living embodiment of their grit. He's their most decorated son in terms of numbers of trophies, but there's dog in him, too. You don't see it in his personality, but it has to be there. He's scored in 15 straight seasons and how his team-mates must want him to make it 16, particularly Callum McGregor, who has been around for an age himself and knows precisely what it is that Forrest has achieved. "The season before he made his debut I had him in the development team," says his first Celtic manager, Neil Lennon. "He was a standout player. "He had everything. Brilliant technique with both feet. You could play him left, right, you could play him through the middle. He had that great change of speed. He was electric - one of those players that get you off your seat, even at that age. "Going past people. Low centre of gravity. Not afraid of anything. From when I first saw him play, I loved him." No-one - the humble Forrest chief among them - is going to claim that anybody from this era can hold a candle to those from Lennox's peerless time, but it was a special moment at Tannadice on Saturday. There was no pomp and circumstance about him. No social media postings, no drawing attention to himself. There was what there's always been - honesty, graft, pride. For Brendan Rodgers, he's been one of the few constants across both of his spells - himself and McGregor. Standard setters in their own ways. "Jamesie is very, very quiet, but his leadership comes in what he does, how he carries himself," says Lennon, "He's a manager's dream." This video can not be played Watch Celtic's title celebrations When did this all begin? A few minutes from the end of a league game against Motherwell on a Saturday in May, 2010 - 14 years and 361 days ago - Forrest got on the end of a flick-on from Marc-Antoine Fortune and planted a left-foot shot into John Ruddy's net. For the 18-year-old, it was a debut to remember. Nine minutes, one goal. Looking back at the footage, what stands out is Forrest's youth - he could be mistaken for a 12-year-old. There's also the names of some of his bygone team-mates - Edson Braafheid, Zheng Zhi, Morten Rasmussen, Josh Thompson. Relics from another age There's something else about that scene that reminds you of how long Forrest has been on the road, though. The attendance at Celtic Park that day was 24,000. The club, as much as the player, has come a long way. There was no trophy in that season, 2009-10, Rangers having won their second title in a row not long before. There wasn't even a cup final. Hearts put them out of the League Cup and Ross County the Scottish Cup. Celtic played 10 games in Europe and won two. Tony Mowbray lost his job along the way. Lennon was appointed manager in a bid to bring back the thunder. "Look at his career and it's been so successful, but there's been tremendous lows as well," adds Lennon. "Missing out on big games through injury or not being selected. He's had his lows, but he's just kept himself on an even keel. Nothing fazes him. "He's not one to kick the doors in when he's not in the team. Some players don't accept that, but he seems to be like, 'okay, this is my role at the minute, but when I'm called upon, I'll be ready'. And he's always ready. "And I still really enjoy watching him play. He's still one of the most exciting players to watch when he's in full flow. As the game has evolved, he's evolved with it. He's a sort of passing winger now, but still with a goal threat. "I don't put him on a pedestal with Bobby Lennox or any of the Lisbon Lions, but he's definitely a man who has done great things in his own right." At 33, and soon-to-be 34, there's still no sign of him being sated by all the success, which is probably the very characteristic that has put him in the history books. On title-winning day he edged one past a great Lion of 1967. Next month, when the Scottish Cup final swings around, he'll be short odds to move two clear. Still hungry, still winning. For the evergreen Forrest, age seems utterly irrelevant.