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James Forrest insists he is ready for Scotland if called upon

James Forrest insists he is ready for Scotland if called upon
© Reuters
Forrest was left out against Belgium and Albania.

Celtic winger James Forrest has vowed not to read too much into his recent Scotland exclusion and be ready when called upon by Alex McLeish.

Forrest emerged as a key player under Gordon Strachan, starting in four World Cup  qualifying wins last year, but did not feature at all in last month's games against Belgium and Albania.

McLeish did not start with wingers in those games, using his wing-backs for width instead, but he has picked Forrest in his latest squad for games against Israel and Portugal.

"He spoke to me after the Albania game and just said it wasn't to be for those two games but he said I was still in his plans," Forrest said.

"Every time you go away it's different formations and not always the same team so I just need to keep working hard, not look too much into it and be ready for the next two games coming up."

The 27-year-old added: "Obviously I was disappointed. If you ask any player, if they don't play, they'll say that. At the same time, I was glad we got the good win against Albania."

Forrest's immediate concern is Celtic's Europa League encounter at Salzburg as they look to build on their opening group win over Rosenborg.

"We've started with one out of one so far in the Europa League so we'll take confidence from that," Forrest said.

"But we definitely know they're going to  be a difficult team and they got a good result in their first game as well.

"Every game in Europe, home and away, is always tough so we know we need to be ready right from the start and put in a good performance."

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Liam Livingstone for Lancashire in 2015
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


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