JAMES Forrest netted his ninth goal of the season in Celtic's 4-0 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Sunday, finishing off a superb passage of passing that left the home side mesmerised.

Forrest’s cool finish, and the fact he’s already close to double figures for the campaign, is an illustration of his importance to the squad. And coming off the back of an equally impressive victory over Italian side, Lazio, in the Europa League on Thursday night, the signs are good for the challenges ahead.

“After the game against Lazio, we all wanted to make sure the league was a priority and we got back on it with another good performance,” Forrest said.

“The manager said after Thursday’s Europa League win that it was such a great night for the fans, players and staff, but we had another big game against Aberdeen in the league, and if we didn’t win, we’d start getting questioned. It makes Thursday night better when, just a couple of days later, we can go to Aberdeen and win.

“The last couple of years the league’s got tighter. It is competitive but we just need to stick to our own game and worry about ourselves. We are playing really well now and we need to keep that form up.

“You’ve seen it now how close it is, with both teams on the same amount of points. It’s good because you raise your standards and you raise your game as well when you know you can’t afford to slip up. It keeps the edge and makes us go into every game knowing we need to get the three points.”

Next up in the league is a home game against St Mirren on Wednesday night, and the Hoops go into that match full of confidence.

Forrest explained, too, that Neil Lennon will demand that his players be on the front foot from the first whistle and continue the good form they’ve been showing in recent games.

“The manager’s big on attacking, even last week when we were 1-0 down against Lazio,” said Forrest. “You see the amount of good attacking players we’ve got in the squad and it keeps everyone hungry and working hard. We’ve scored a lot of goals, and that comes from our hard work. We just need to keep going to produce those type of performances.

“The manager and the staff, John Kennedy and Damien Duff, have been really good when we go into every game. When you get a good result, you don’t want to focus too much on it but it gives you confidence going into the next game.

“You’ve got a big game every three days so you can’t afford to rest on what you’ve done in the game before. The coaches are good at getting that out of the players.”

James Forrest: Our focus is always on the next game