Scottish defender Stephen O’Donnell has heaped praise on his compatriot James Forrest.
The Kilmarnock defender claimed that he is delighted to see the Celtic winger do so well. Forrest scored four goals against St. Johnstone last week.
O’Donnell has played with Forrest in the national team setup as well as in the youth levels. The Kilmarnock defender was a part of the Celtic U19s.
The 26-year-old revealed that Forrest’s performances in the youth levels convinced him that the Celtic winger would go on to be a top quality player. He also maintained that he won’t be jealous if Forrest gets the nod ahead of him in the national team.
O’Donnell also outlined his admiration for Forrest as a player and said that he will be very happy for the Celtic star if the Scotland manager decides to pick him instead.
The Kilmarnock player said: “If it was a shoot-off between us – whoever the manager picked – I’d be delighted for James if he was playing. He’s a great guy and someone for whom I’ve got huge respect. I played with him for Celtic Under-19s. You sometimes get a bit of jealousy towards players when they do well and you obviously don’t do so well. He probably won’t remember my favourite memory of him because he has had so many good games but we played in a tournament in Villarreal with Celtic when I was right-back and he was right midfield. It was against Real Madrid, Milan, Japan and then Liverpool in the final. It was my first season and when I got to play with him I thought, ‘he’s different gravy. If he doesn’t do well in football, there’s something far wrong.’ He was outstanding from a young age and I’m just delighted to see him doing well every week.”
It will be interesting to see if the Celtic winger manages to perform at a similar level in the coming months. He could turn into a decisive option for Rodgers if he continues to play like he did against St. Johnstone.
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