While Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side ultimately sealed their place in the Scottish Cup quarter-final with a 4-0 win over Raith Rovers on Sunday afternoon, in truth, the final scoreline rather flattered the Bhoys.
With the 56-year-old Hoops boss having made seven changes to the side that defeated Aberdeen in midweek, Celtic required a spectacular strike from left-back Liam Scales to break the deadlock midway through the first half, before Giorgos Giakoumakis, Daizen Maeda and Nir Bitton all added goals after the hour mark – despite the Bhoys’ lacklustre display.
Indeed, speaking after the fixture, Postecoglou said of his side’s performance: “I think the urgency wasn’t quite there. It’s not about singling out individuals. We have an intent and ambition to be a certain kind of team, training is intense, so gameday we are intense no matter who starts.”
And, while the Greek-Australian coach may not have wanted to comment on the individual performances of a number of his side, it was clear for all to see that both of Celtic’s starting wingers, Mikey Johnston and James Forrest, were miles off the pace on Sunday – something that will be extremely concerning for the 56-year-old manager, especially considering the duo were up against a Rovers side who currently occupy fourth place in the Scottish Championship table.
Forrest may have blown his final chance
Indeed, with summer signing Liel Abada taking to life in Scotland like a duck to water, with the 20-year-old Israel international having already bagged 14 goals and registered 11 assists over 40 appearances for the Hoops, Forrest already looks to be Postecoglou’s second-choice on the right-hand side of the Celtic front three.
And, while it is true that a series of niggling injuries have limited the number of minutes the 30-year-old has played so far this season, the £5.4m-rated forward has nevertheless returned a disappointing three goals and three assists over his 23 outings for the Bhoys this term – with only one of these goal contributions, an assist against Dundee in a 6-0 win at the beginning of the current campaign, coming in the Premiership.
However, the £19k-per-week Scotland international had the perfect opportunity to prove to Postecoglou that he is capable of challenging Abada for his spot on the right-wing over the remainder of the season on Sunday, with the 56-year-old handing Forrest his 13th start of the current campaign against Raith Rovers.
Although, if this was Forrest’s last big chance to stake his claim on a starting spot, it is an opportunity the 30-year-old blew completely, as, over the course of his 69 minutes on the pitch, the winger offered his side next to nothing going forwards, with the Scottish Daily Express awarding the 38-time capped international a four in their player ratings – the worst of any Celtic player on the day – as well as stating of his display:
“Looked off the pace again, couldn’t trouble Raith down the right flank. Seemed to inexplicably hold back from releasing the ball at key moments.”
As such, while it is undeniable that Forrest is a player who has contributed a great deal for the Bhoys over the years, often being the club’s saviour in the biggest of games, considering his overall level of performance so far under the management of Postecoglou, this could well be the beginning of the end of the Parkhead hero – as the 30-year-old well and truly fluffed his big chance on Sunday.
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