MX23RW : Sunday, August 8 20:04:12| >> :120:9005:9005:

James Forrest hails arrivals of Joe Hart and James McCarthy at Celtic

James Forrest hails arrivals of Joe Hart and James McCarthy at Celtic
© Reuters
The signings came a day before the Scottish club's Europa League qualifying first leg win over Czech side FK Jablonec.

Celtic winger James Forrest says the influx of experience to the club was a major boost ahead of their first victory of the season.

England goalkeeper Joe Hart made his debut in Thursday's 4-2 Europa League qualifying win over Czech side FK Jablonec, 24 hours after arriving in a joint signing with Republic of Ireland player James McCarthy.

The former Hamilton midfielder will have to wait for his debut after training on his own during pre-season but Forrest revealed the news of his signing had also lifted the squad.

Forrest was on target in the first leg in the Czech Republic as Celtic finally secured a first win under Ange Postecoglou four games into his reign.

James Forrest File Photo
Celtic's James Forrest (Jeff Holmes/PA)

"Even the presence of Joe Hart when he came in for his first session was massive," Forrest said.

"It's great signings from the club and they will definitely help the dressing room. It's really exciting to play with players of that quality and experience.

"Joe Hart's first training session, you could hear him talking the full session, and he's a presence in the dressing room.

"We have not met McCarthy yet but everyone has seen him play and with the experience he has had with Ireland as well, he will be a great addition to the squad.

"There's a lot of quality at the club and a lot of young boys have done well in training but those two signings, you just feel a difference straight away.

Celtic v West Ham – Pre Season Friendly – Celtic Park
Ange Postecoglou now has his first win as Celtic manager (Jane Barlow/PA)

"It's not putting any pressure on them, they have obviously played under loads of pressure in their career before, but it's a massive boost. It's really good for the young lads and the senior lads as well."

There remains room for improvement in all areas of the pitch for Celtic but Forrest feels the much-needed win will give them a platform ahead of Sunday's cinch Premiership clash with Dundee at Parkhead.

"It's good to get a win, score some goals and feel good about ourselves again and obviously it gives us a good lead going into next week and hopefully we can build on that," he said.

"It was just important we stopped the mini rut and got that first win. Hopefully we can build on that and performances will gradually get better as well."

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Olympic medal table header
CountryGold medalSilver MedalBronze MedalT
United StatesUnited States394133113
ChinaChina38321888
JapanJapan27141758
Great BritainGreat Britain22212265
Olympics flagRussian Olympic Committee20282371
Today's Olympic highlights header

Sunday's key events


ATHLETICS
· With the track and field action now finished, the final athletics event of the Games is the men's marathon, which includes three British representatives and world record holder Eliud Kipchoge (11pm)

CYCLING
· Laura Kenny goes for a sixth Olympic gold medal, and a second of the Tokyo Games, in the women's omnium (2am-4.25am)
· Jason Kenny also has another shot at gold on the final day of action, taking part in the men's keirin alongside compatriot Jack Carlin (2.24am-4am)

BASKETBALL
· After the men once again picked up Olympic gold, the USA women will attempt to replicate their success in the gold medal match against hosts Japan (3.30am)

VOLLEYBALL
· USA also have a chance for gold in the women's volleyball final against Brazil (5.30am)

BOXING
· Lauren Price bids to bring a successful Games to a golden close for Britain in the ring as she takes on Li Qian in the women's middleweight final (6.45am)

HANDBALL
· The women's gold medal match sees the Russian Olympic Committee take on France (7am)

WATER POLO
· The final gold medal of the Games is likely to be handed out in water polo, when Greece face Serbia in the men's gold medal match (8.30am)

CLOSING CEREMONY
· A unique and memorable Olympic Games officially comes to a close (12pm)

> Today's schedule in full
Todays Game Header Right
Championship
Pre-Season Friendlies
Scottish Premiership
Ligue 1
Primeira Liga
Coppa Italia
DFB-Pokal
Belgian Pro League
Swiss Super League
Russian Premier League
Ukrainian Premier League
Norwegian Eliteserien
Swedish Allsvenskan
Danish Superliga
Finnish Veikkausliiga
League of Ireland Premier
Eerste Divisie
Major League Soccer
Brasileiro
Copa Diego Maradona
Uruguayan Primera Division
Liga MX
Chinese Super League
Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Hibernian22006246
2Aberdeen22004136
3Hearts22004226
4Celtic21017253
5RangersRangers21013123
6Dundee UnitedDundee Utd210112-13
7St Johnstone20201102
8Motherwell201134-11
9St Mirren201134-11
10Ross County201103-31
11Dundee201128-61
12Livingston200215-40

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