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James Forrest reveals Scott Brown 'Hail Mary' deal as Celtic legend admits goalscoring record is in his head
Celtic legend James Forrest has admitted that Scott Brown tried to get the diminutive winger to return to his hometown to sign for Ayr United midway through last season - but he turned it down with more and more Parkhead records in his sights.
Forrest is one of just three players to have recorded at least 100 goals and 100 assists in a green and white shirt, and having scored in 15 consecutive seasons for the Hoops, he's gunning for the record set by two other stars of 16 - before potentially breaking that in his final season at the club.
But whilst he continues to enjoy his time in the Scottish Premiership at Parkhead after signing a new contract until the summer of 2026, Forrest has revealed that former skipper Brown tried to get him to drop a league, and return close to his Prestwick roots - by asking him to sign for Ayr just under a year ago.
Speaking to the Daily Record, the Celtic legend said of the offer from his former skipper: “Aye, he actually phoned me. He asked me last January, February if I’d go down. What was my answer? Just no’ yet!’ I don’t even think he said I would get a game – he said I could compete for a place!
“Has it been on my mind? Maybe just recently. A few folk have mentioned it but it’s one where obviously as an attacking player you want to be scoring and assisting.
“But I’ve been really enjoying this season, the minutes I’ve got, the games I’ve been involved in. It’s not in my head as a stat, it’s more to help the team. It’s a good start to the season overall, but I need to get my finger out and make sure I score! It’s class when you’re put in a bracket with those names with different stats, but hopefully we can have another conversation after I’ve done it.”
Celtic face Aberdeen on Wednesday evening, with a win against the Dons mathematically putting the Hoops seven points clear in the title race with a game in hand. They're in the best position of anyone to fly up the table and secure what would be a fourth successive title - but Forrest knows that, despite his record, the only thing that matters is the Hoops winning to get more and more silverware under their belts.
He continued: “Definitely, it would be a good one. I’m in December and, as I said, I’ve just probably started thinking about it in the last couple of games that I haven’t scored. But I’m feeling good and as I said, if you were missing chances then that would be more worrying.
“So, hopefully it will come against Aberdeen, that would be good. I’ve scored against Aberdeen a couple of times at Hampden. It’s a big game, hopefully if I get a chance to make an impact then I can try and score.
“I’d come on in a few games before the semi-final, but I think that was the real turning point. So, for me personally and for the team as well, I think after that we kind of kicked on from there. It was a really good end to the season.”
