James Forrest has revealed he wants to stay at Celtic despite contract expiration this summer.
The 34-year-old is already Celtic’s most decorated player with 26 trophies but could extend his trophy haul to 28 come the end of May.
The winger came off the bench to set up Celtic’s third goal in Sunday’s 6-2 win against St. Mirren and has revealed he’s told Celtic bosses that he doesn’t want to be anywhere else next summer.
Forrest said: “I think at Celtic you’re always (playing for a new deal). I remember (Brendan) Rodgers telling me when you sign a new deal you’re always working hard to get the next one.
Obviously I’m going to be 35 next summer, but I still feel as though I can contribute in and about the team. The main thing just now is helping the team win the league and obviously we’ve got a cup final to look forward to as well, so hopefully I can be a part of that.
“I spoke to the club… I’ve been here for a long time and I don’t want to go anywhere else. So it’s not a big discussion.”
Forrest was also asked about how valuable his and his teammates Hampden experience was to staving off a St. Mirren comeback. But the winger was full of praise for the whole squad’s mentality.
He said: “Obviously you’ve been and done it. But I think the players, any new signings, any young boys coming through at Celtic quickly realise how big it is every game you play and especially in semi-finals, finals. You’re expected to win these games and it’s onto the next one.
“The boys dug in to be fair. Obviously made a lot of subs. The team that started the game wasn’t the team that finished it and I think that’s happened a lot this season.
The veteran also agreed that the prospect of Neil Lennon and Martin O’Neill facing off against each other in the Scottish Cup final is an interesting one.
“It’s unbelievable, obviously I came through with Lenny as well. He obviously gave me my debut and I played reserves with him and I’ve got a lot of good memories with him. It’s obviously great for him to get into the final as well.
“It’s a good one, hopefully by the end of the season we’ll have the league in the bag and a cup final to look forward to. It’ll obviously be a good day for the two of them as well.”
With no official word on whether Forrest will remain at Celtic next season, the forward has six games remaining after 24 years at Celtic, where he could extend his trophy tally to a historic 28.
