WHEN the Celtic players report back from international duty next week, preparations will begin for their Premiership match against Ross County. And that game will be quickly followed by a Europa League clash with Lazio, as the Italian side visit Paradise on Thursday, October 24.

Neil Lennon’s side sit top of Group E after two matches, with four points from their draw away to Rennes and a 2-0 home win over Cluj.

With four games remaining in the group, James Forrest knows there’s a still a long way to go before the Hoops can look forward to any prospect of European football after Christmas, but as he told this week’s Celtic View, the players are delighted with the start they’ve made to the campaign.

“The Cluj result was great but we’ve we can’t afford to look ahead to anything other than the next opponent in the group,” Forrest said. “Obviously, the focus will turn to Lazio now but we haven’t been looking two or three games ahead.

“There are four really good teams in the group so we know it’s going to be tough and I think it’ll go down to the last game.”

“The manager highlighted the importance of starting well in games,” he added. “That can affect everyone so it was great that we started on the front foot against Cluj this time. That meant the crowd got behind us right away and that gave us confidence.

“Every team that goes away from home looks to quieten the home crowd with an early goal so as a home team you need to be at it from the kick-off. You can’t afford to ease yourself into the game.

“We started on the front foot and the fans could see that we were hungry from kick-off. That’s what we want and that’s what the fan like to see.”

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James Forrest: We'll be ready for our next Europa League test