RONNY Deila once described James Forrest as a “frightened” footballer. What he meant was that the 22-year-old Scotland winger was holding back, playing as if he was worried sick that a maddening series of muscle injuries could recur at any moment.

In midweek at Rugby Park, though, he was back in the “frightening” category. Everything this wee winger, back on his native Ayrshire turf, tried on the night came off, whether it was one of those typical, athletic bursts down the right, or the most impudent of nutmeg passes on Killie midfielder Scott Robinson. Watching Malmo boss Age Hareide might have been pleased with the defensive frailties displayed by Celtic on the night, ahead of their crucial Champions League qualifying tie at Parkhead in midweek, but he might just have left Rugby Park freaked out by the havoc which an in-form Forrest could wreak on his side’s hopes.

While the creative cast at Celtic is about to expand, in the form of his one-time Scotland Under-21 team-mate Scott Allan, Forrest’s withdrawal on the hour mark in his native Ayrshire, with the game seemingly won, was a sign that Deila was delighted with his own personal performance.

Another similar display against Inverness Caledonian Thistle today would be a sign that this could be a big season for the winger, now 24, who craves the chance to kick on at Champions League and international level. Gordon Strachan is another manager who swears by him and it is not outlandish to think he may be capable of playing his way into contention for next month’s crucial double header against Georgia and Germany.

“When the gaffer first came in I was struggling for a couple of months and I thank him for that because he gave me a couple of months to get me right,” said Forrest. “Now I just want to repay the faith he showed in me.

“Every player will tell you that injury is the worst thing – you just want to be out there training and playing games. The more games you play, the more confident you get, the more you feel part of it. There is no hiding that.”

While Ronny Deila brought in his own physio, Bard Homstol, whom he worked with at Stromsgodset, with one eye specifically on Forrest, rather than any particular training method, he feels experience, and learning more about his body has helped him stay injury free for ‘seven or eight’ months.

“All the boys have got their own way of treating things,” said Forrest. “As you get a wee bit older, a wee bit more experienced, I think you learn to treat things a bit differently. I just want to keep training and playing games.”

In this Celtic squad, that is no easy feat. Ronny Deila is assembling a plentiful, talented squad with much of the onus on young-Scottish based players. Allan is set to be merely the latest member of a cast which includes Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven.

“The standard in training in really high,” said Forrest. “So far in pre-season and the games we’ve played we’ve done really well, apart from drawing at Kilmarnock the other night, we’ve had a lot of positive results and that’s down to the squad we’ve got. New boys like Scott coming in is definitely good for all the players, because they can’t just rest on what they’ve done and need to keep pushing on and show the gaffer what they can do. A club like Celtic is massive and the fans are tremendous. Any player that comes in will need to do the same as the boys who are here and give everything.”

While the club have plenty of midfielders on the books, each offers different things. While Allan cannot boast the hyperactive running of Stefan Johansen, or even the work rate or stealthy late movement of Stuart Armstrong, few are better than the predominantly right-sided Allan, a superb technical player, when it comes to splitting open a defence. Like players such as Leigh Griffiths, who has bought into the manager’s methods and emerged a stronger player, perhaps Allan is also something of a work in progress, having scored just five senior goals in his career. But at less than £300,000 it is a risk worth taking. “We have got a lot of competition for places there,” said Forrest, “and Scott does bring something different, which is obviously good for us overall.”

Forrest’s own contractual circumstances are less dramatic than the furore over Allan, but there is no better time for this resurgence in his own form. The player’s deal is due to expire in December 2016, and with his old gaffer Neil Lennon at Bolton Wanderers just one manager who has been credited with an interest, Forrest said that talks were likely to proceed shortly on the subject of an extension.

“I’ve got 18 months I think but just now the main thing is Champions League so I’m not even thinking about that,” he said. “Everyone wants to get into the Champions League and that’s the main thing. All the boys want to get Champions League football and in the next two games against Malmo we need to really focus and get through.”

First up is the task of getting back to winning ways against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, the side which thwarted the club’s treble ambitions last season. A Celtic side with Allan, and in-form Forrest, and all the rest, to call upon, is a frightening prospect indeed.