The Celtic fans were looking forward to the return of domestic action and seeing what kind of team Brendan Rodgers would put out against Livingston off the back of a disappointing European result.
The playing surface at the West Lothian club is well-documented as not being a favourite amongst many professional footballers so the team selection for the game against the SPFL side was always going to be interesting.
TBR Celtic suggested that Kyogo Furuhashi should be rested and his shoulder given a bit of extra time to heal as games against Livingston tend to be physical affairs.
That wasn’t to be the case as James Forrest was given the surprise nod ahead of Luis Palms to start the game.
But former Celtic manager, Neil Lennon, wasn’t surprised. In fact, Lennon was over the moon to see the Hoops legend back in the team.
Lennon said [Sky Sports], “I’m delighted to see him back in the team. I’ve talked about James for a long, long time. He’s just a wonderful player.
“He’s been a big player for so long for a long, long time. I was surprised he didn’t get some minutes on Tuesday night, but obviously, Brendan has decided enough is enough now so let’s get him back into the team.
“So he is one player who can turn the game at any moment. He’s 32 now but whenever I’ve seen him, he’s as fit as ever.
“So really pleased to see him back in the squad.”
Like many, I was also surprised to see Forrest back in the team but having said that, his inclusion did make sense. The £19k-per-week player has a lot of experience playing on that surface when the likes of Luis Palma and Hyunjun Yang may have struggled on it.
However, his game was short-lived after Joe Hart’s first-half dismissal meant he had to make way for Scott Bain to take over between the sticks.
But what Forrest’s inclusion does tell us is that he still has a part to play this season under Brendan Rodgers and that the Celtic fans will be seeing a bit more of him as the fixtures continue to come thick and fast.
In other news, ‘Best in the world’: Chris Sutton extremely impressed with 25-year-old Celtic player’s pressing yesterday