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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Joe Donnelly

James Forrest gives honest Scotland call up admission

The fine form James Forrest has shown in 2024 has earned him a place in the Celtic starting line-up in recent weeks.

With much being said about a potential spot in Steve Clarke's 26-man Scotland squad for next month's UEFA Euro 2024 competition, the 32-year-old has spoken candidly about the prospect of getting the call.

"I’ve not been in the Scotland squad for a couple of years now but I think you find out an hour before it’s released," said Forrest. "I’ve not heard anything up to now, but I’m fine with that. I’m happy and enjoying playing here and we’ll see what happens on Wednesday.

"Every time I’ve played for Scotland I’ve loved being away. I’ve been away with the under-19s, and 21s and played a few times for the first team as well.

"Every Scottish player wants to be in the Scotland squad. I don’t think there’s any hiding that."



With limited game time in the opening stretch of the 2023/24 campaign at club level, Forrest's input since the turn of the year has seen him contribute seven goals and two assists – one of each coming in Wednesday's thrilling 5-0 win over Kilmarnock.

That was enough to secure Celtic's third successive Scottish Premiership title, who now host St Mirren at Celtic Park on Saturday. After that, the squad's collective attention switches to Rangers at Hampden in the Scottish Cup Final 2024 on May 25.

Between times, Forrest remains focused on those games. If anything should happen with Scotland otherwise, he'll cross that bridge as and when.

He added: "I was at the last Euros with Scotland and it was a great experience because we haven’t been there for so long. I’ll just concentrate on the next two games here and we’ll see what happens."

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