FRASER FORSTER looked forward to being reunited with some of his former Celtic team-mates at Hampden this weekend and felt England ought to be wary of the threat posed by Leigh Griffiths. Forster played alongside the striker for the final six months of his four-season stint as a Celtic player prior to a £10m move to Southampton in 2014. Griffiths is still awaiting his first international goal after 12 caps but Forster, one of three England goalkeepers in the squad for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier, has pinpointed the forward as someone the visitors would need to keep close tabs on.

“Leigh is a fantastic player,” he said. “He has got pace to stretch defences but he can also score from anywhere. He has got a great left foot and can hit target from outside or inside the box. He’s a very tough player to play against. It just takes half a chance or a split-second and he can punish you. He is definitely one player we need to really concentrate on to make sure he doesn’t get that chance.

“You have make sure you are switched on the whole time when you are playing. He has a very short back-lift when he is shooting so he can get the ball away quickly. As a defender or a back four, you can think you have got him in a good position. Then, in a split-second, he can shift the ball and hit it. That is something that is always going to test people.”

Forster also had words of praise for Craig Gordon, the man who succeeded him as Celtic’s number one and who will start in goal for Scotland this weekend.

“It’s been fantastic for Craig,” he added. “We only had a few weeks together at the time but I knew the type of keeper he was before the injuries. He still had it. It was just a case of getting up to speed.

“That’s finding what training was best for him, what load of training was best him. You look at the transfer fee he went for a few years ago to Sunderland. That was a while ago and a lot of money at the time, which shows you he’s a great ‘keeper.

“Craig did well in England and he’s got a great habit of keeping the ball out of the net. He’s been working with Stevie Woods [the Celtic goalkeeping coach] and you have no doubts that whatever goalkeeper is in at Celtic, he will get the best out of them and take them to the top of their game.”

Forster smiles at the mention of Scott Brown’s name, his captain at Celtic and the man who will also lead Scotland at Hampden on Saturday. The midfielder has now spend a decade at Parkhead but Forster has no doubts he would have thrived had he taken the chance to move to England.

“He is a top player,” he added. “You can see what he has done for Celtic and for Scotland. There is absolutely no reason why he couldn’t have done it down here. It’s just his character, the way he goes out and approaches every game, the fact he gives 100 percent in every game and leads by example.

“When times are tough he always stands up and drags people along with him. It was the same around the training ground. He was always a good laugh but as soon as training started it was always about winning for Scott. Those are the sort of people you want to have in your team. He makes everyone lift their own standards.”