James Forrest named the 'father' of Celtic success as Brendan Rodgers tells the dressing what goal hero truly means

Brendan Rodgers has hailed James Forrest as the "father" of Celtic's success after his decisive double kept the title train on track against Dundee.

The long-serving wide man has already racked up 22 trophies during his Parkhead career. And while he wasn't quite on babysitting duties at Dens Park, he showed the kids how it's done with a great first half volley before smashing what ended up being winner past Jon McCracken to keep Rangers at arms' length.

After a goal off the bench against Aberdeen in last weekend's Scottish Cup semi-final success, Forrest is doing his bit to make sure he can end the season with 24 winners' medals in his pocket. Over a decade of know-how proved vital on Tayside as we approach the business end of the Premiership season and Rodgers reiterated Forrest's status to the rest of the squad after a less than comfortable afternoon that ended as you were with one more game ticked off.

"Two great finishes," said Rodgers of Forrest's brace. "I said to the players afterwards, he's one of the fathers of the great success this club has had over the last decade. Everything he's given on and off the pitch, He's a real symbol of that success. He's very humble, very understated but what he has is immense quality. You saw that with both of his finishes. The first one was absolutely brilliant and the second one he makes it look easier than what it was on the volley. But every time he has the ball, he can keep it, he can beat a man, feint, he can come inside and he can pick a pass. Absolutely fantastic he was so I'm really pleased for him."

Asked how much longer Forrest can keep going at Celtic, Rodgers replied: "I think he can go on. When you watch Jamesy, you see him stretching a lot and in his position, there's a lot of high intensity work. Of course, it can catch up with you after a while. But he's making the impact we need from him. He's done that today by scoring two great goals and won us the game.

A return to the Scotland squad given Forrest's recent form has been whispered, with UEFA set to give the grene light to 26-man squads rather than 23. But Rodgers was careful not to push his man into Steve Clarke;s thinking.

He added: Well, I don't know. He's had great moments with Scotland, certainly during my first time here, he was really pivotal for me and for Scotland. But the game gets quicker and evolves, the intensity of the game gets greater. But my focus is really on him producing and performing for Celtic and if he can do that, then we can have a great end to the season."