Forster: Norwich will be tough Paradise test
By: Laura Brannan on 23 Jul, 2012 14:01
IT may have been Adam Drury´s night, but back in May, when Celtic went down to Norwich for his testimonial, it was Fraser Forster who almost unintentionally stole the thunder.
It was the former Norwich City keeper, and now Celtic´s No.1, who knew just about everyone he came in contact with from the minute he walked off the team bus and through the Carrow Road corridors to the kick-off where he was warmly greeted by the home fans.
The reception his name received when the team-sheet was read out rivalled that of Drury´s himself, and it became clear Forster had made a name for himself during his loan spell at Norwich in the 2009/10 season.
But a lot has happened in just two months, and the set-up at Forster´s former club has changed from when the Hoops made the end of season trip down south.
Paul Lambert and his backroom staff have since moved on, but in saying that, though, the new management set-up can still be found in Forster´s phonebook.
Having worked with Chris Hughton, Colin Calderwood and even Paul Trollope before, he is no stranger to the new team who are heading north for this evening´s match.
"Football is a small world," the goalkeeper exclusively told the official Hoops matchday programme.
"I know a few people now on the new coaching staff - Chris Hughton used to be my manager at Newcastle, Colin Calderwood used to be the caretaker manager at Newcastle, and Paul Trollope was my manager at Bristol Rovers before I went to Norwich.
"The squad hasn’t changed a great deal, though a few have left and a few have come in, but there haven’t really been any massive changes.
"Grant Holt was there, he played every game and he´s still there doing well. There are still a lot of people there on the playing side and I´m delighted for them all."
Celtic have some big matches on the horizon, none more so than next week´s UEFA Champions League qualifier, and with Norwich City on Tuesday night, followed by Inter Milan on Saturday, Forster wants to see significant progress from their earlier pre-season matches.
"It will be a good game for us to play in and it will be a good test," he said. "We want to hit the ground running at Celtic Park, but Norwich had a fantastic season last year and they will want to recreate that.
"It will be important we turn up and play because it will be a tough game. We saw that in the testimonial. Even though it was only a friendly, they´ve still got some very good players.
"I´m sure Chris Hughton will have got them all going and it´s important for them to start the season well. I think there will be a bit of pressure on us playing at home too, so we will have to go out and play well."
Celtic's pre-season match with Norwich City is at Celtic Park this Tuesday, July 24 (KO: 7.45pm).
The match against Norwich City is a season ticket game but match tickets are on general sale, priced £15 for adults and £5 for concessions.
Tickets can be purchased online, by calling 0871 226 1888* or by visiting the Celtic Ticket Office.
Tickets are also available in the following Celtic retail outlets: Argyle Street, Sauchiehall Street, Clydebank, Coatbridge, East Kilbride
Season tickets are available and can be purchased by visiting the Ticket Office or calling 0871 226 1888* and choose option 1, option 2
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