YOU get the feeling you are now witnessing the second coming of James Forrest.

The right winger is by no manner of means the only one to enjoy a resurgence under Brendan Rodgers, but the transformation in form, mindset and public opinion in the youngster who a year ago was being jeered by some of his own supporters over a proposed desire to leave Celtic Park, is in a league of its own.

It was last February the then 24-year-old rejected the offer of a new Celtic contract under Ronny Deila, a move that led to the murmurs of discontent in the stands and whispers the lad referred to as 'Jamesie' by the Norwegian was for the off.

Fast forward to just the second week of the first Ladbrokes Premiership season under Rodgers and Forrest had penned a new deal.

What a difference a manager makes, eh?

“Right from the start, we spoke in pre-season. He said he wanted me to stay and I told him I always wanted to stay. It was good to get that out of the way and let me focus on playing football," he said.

“The first thing we did we got in the Champions League, then we won the cup and we went on to do well in the league. We did well in the Champions League too, so it’s been a good first six months.

“We are going to start working hard again and hopefully have a good second half of the season."

His end product was always a criticism in recent years for the Ayrshireman man who lost his way under Deila. The confidence of the kid once with a £10 million price tag around his neck appeared knocked, his rhythm and influence on games fading.

Rodgers' arrival appears to have stripped away the uncertainty surrounding Forrest's game, got him free of injury and he now appears be back doing what he is good at - flying by full-backs, creating opportunities and scoring goals. He has six to his name and has played 29 games for Celtic this season already, home and abroad.

Asked if he feels a better player now than he did when he was first named the £10m Bhoy, he said: “I do. That maybe comes through experience. I do feel stronger and fitter now than I did then.

“It’s just that happens in football. Players will always get to a certain stage of their career where they are not talked about as much as they were when they were being talked about for big money.

“But it’s been a good spell for me and we still have the rest of the season to go and I just want to kick on.

“They are really into sports science. The gaffer has brought his own guys here and everyone has benefited from that. It’s just like the lead up into games and things like that. Everyone is feeling good, fit and healthy.

“We’re not getting that many days off so we are recovering better. That does help us going into games. Pre-season was a big one, it was hard. We had double sessions for the first few weeks so we were going into the games feeling good right from the start. When the games were three a week we were getting even better. All the boys have been feeling strong."

Forrest was speaking in Dubai where Celtic enjoyed over a week in the UAE sunshine. The players first travelled out with their families and partners, before getting down to the nitty gritty of preparing to kick on for what looks to be a prosperous new year.

"I had five days off so I came out with the girlfriend. I think a lot of the boys did that as well so it’s been good," he said. “For everyone it’s been a pretty hectic six months, it’s good for everyone to have their own time before the team are together. We are going to be training hard.

“It’s been really good. You have to give credit to all of the boys who have put in 110 per cent right from the start. It’s been a good six-and-a-half months and now we are going to focus on the next two weeks to get back in good shape for the remainder of the season."