James Forrest’s new biography ‘Homegrown Hero’ is due to be released for Christmas, but the Celtic winger has said he wasn’t keen on having a book published about him when the idea was first proposed.

The 28-year-old revealed that he felt he was young to have a book released on his career so far since he’s still playing regular first team football, but Celtic ‘talked him into it’.

According to The Scottish Sun, the Hoops star decided to go through with it largely in part because it will raise money for charity and hopes fans will do their bit to contribute.

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Forrest said: “About four to six weeks ago the club came to me and asked me about doing a book.

“Right away I said No! I didn’t really want to do it, and it wasn’t me who came up with the title.

“I am only 28 and I am still young, so it felt a bit strange to do a book.

“But they wanted to talk about the fact I’ve been in the first team for ten years.

“Celtic talked me into it, and my family said it would be a good thing to do. It is good to do it for the charity foundation, and that is a big part of why I wanted to do it in the end.

“It feels strange to have the book coming out as I’m still playing. I’m not finished and still want to play loads more games, and be more successful.

“I want to keep winning and not just rest. I’m not going to stop working hard just because I’ve got a book out.”

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Forrest joined the Celtic team back in 2009 when he was only 18 years old and has since seen the Hoops through a frenzy of achievements.

He has played a crucial role in helping the Scottish Champions cement their status as ‘The Invincibles’; helping to beat Rangers 5-1 and making it the biggest win at Ibrox since 1897; helping them win their first Champions League away game in five years; and helping the Hoops win the Treble Treble  for the first time in Scottish history.

Forrest said that it has ‘been good’ to talk about his experiences at the club.

“I don’t really like talking about myself, but it has been good speaking about the experiences of the last ten years at Celtic, and when I first came through.

“A game gets mentioned and then you do remember bits of it.

“I focus on matches coming up all the time, you aren’t thinking about a game that took place back then.

“But it has all been really positive. You get a lot of good feelings from these old games, and you never know, maybe it can help you with games coming up?”

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Forrest played a crucial role in Thursday’s Europa League 2-0 win against Romanian rivals Cluj, who put Celtic out of the Champions League in August. The match marked his 89th Euro appearance, a number only beaten by Scott Brown.

“Playing in Europe was something I always wanted to do, but I am only 28 and I want to keep adding to that tally.

“It was a really good team performance against Cluj, and we got even better second half.

“We could have scored a few more. It’s very exciting to play in this team, really enjoyable.”

Celtic are away to Livingston on Sunday in the Scottish Premiership hoping to pick up three points to stay at the top of the table.

For those hoping to buy a copy of ‘Homegrown Hero’, it is available online at www.celticfc.net/store and a donation from every purchase will go to Celtic Foundation charity Christmas appeal.