LIKE his colleagues Scott Brown and Callum McGregor, James Forrest is delighted to be back training at Lennoxtown, albeit in reduced numbers, and now can’t wait to hit the ground running in competitive fixtures in the coming weeks and months.

Fitness-wise, the winger said the at-home sessions set by Neil Lennon and his coaching staff have helped immeasurably over the last few months, and now he can’t wait to compete for more silverware during the 2020/21 campaign. When he does, he wants nothing more than to do in front of the Paradise faithful whenever it’s safe to do so.

“It’s been a good feeling getting back into things,” said Forrest in an exclusive interview with Celtic TV. “We were back up at Lennoxtown last week, so it was good to see some of the boys again and be back out there. It’s been exciting! Hopefully in the weeks to come, we can start training in groups and maybe play some friendly games as well.

“Everyone wants the football back, and as long as it’s safe to do so, hopefully we can just keep going in this direction and get the fans back in soon as well. As soon as fans can get back in, assuming it’s safe, I think that’ll be good for everyone.

“For about two months there, no one was sure what was happening with the league, but it’s all positive now, we’re back and hopefully we just get everyone going in the right direction now and everyone is looking forward to the season starting.

“I’m feeling good myself. The staff have been on top of us over the lockdown. They’ve sent us a lot of programmes, they’ve made sure we’ve been doing them, so that we can hit the ground running when we do go back.”

James Forrest: We can’t wait to play in front of packed Paradise