Kieran Tierney effortlessly claims the headline act when it comes to any boast about Celtic’s academy structure but Neil Lennon’s pin-up boy has been around a little longer. James Forrest’s unassuming manner is unlikely to place him front and centre of any stage but the 28-year-old need not look much further than his own dug-out to find his biggest fan.

He and Lennon go back; Lennon’s brief role as development coach introduced him to the then teenager more than a decade ago with the relationship blossoming as both have matured into senior roles.

“I think Jamesy is the poster boy,” said Lennon. “He’s really the first one since the inception of all this. He broke in, scored on his debut at 18 and he’s 28 now. He’s player of the year, treble treble winner, played in the Champions League, and was international player of the year for Scotland. He’s been doing it year in, year out.

“I think he got a bit maligned a little bit for a spell or two but over the last few seasons he’s really matured into a top quality player. He could go and play anywhere. But I’m glad we have him. He’s a brilliant player and I’ve never hidden my admiration for him.

“I had him in the development team and he was the stand-out player back then. You could see him as a first-team player within a month or so, with his temperament and ability. He’s made the most of it and there’s more to come from him. At 28 he’s at his peak. We maybe have to manage him and give him a rest here and there. But when he plays he really plays. He’s an outstanding player. He’s not one that hogs the headlines. That’s why he maybe doesn’t always get the recognition because it never bothers him.”

Celtic’s PR officer was cajoled into offering an impromptu rendition of a terracing song for Forrest, an interjection that came only after a suggestion that the winger is one of the few not celebrated in verse by the Parkhead support. That any ditty has gone unnoticed underlines the hiding-in-plain-sight image of Forrest and yet his stats are monumental; the winger netted 22 goals for club and country last season in a campaign in which he clocked up 64 appearances.

Bettering it will take some doing. The next challenge for the Scotland internationalist might just lie in evolving his role from winger to a more traditional number 10, with Lennon experimenting with that kind of role in a Scottish Cup tie at Easter Road and then again at times in pre-season this summer.

“He may need to play inside as he gets older,” said Lennon. “He’s two-footed, quick and he can get on the half-turn in those inside positions to break the lines, rather than just doing the long running all the time in the winger’s position. He can play right and left – he played on the left in my first spell here. If people are getting to wise to him, can he develop his game for different positions? Of course he can, because he’s got the talent.

“We’ll gauge it and speak to him about it, because I quick like him in that [10] position. He’s got that change of pace that in that position can kill people. We’ve got a lot of other wide players as well, but whether they’re up to his standard remains to be seen. If it’s not working, I can always say, ‘out you go’ on the right or left. He’s brilliant coming in from both sides.”

Forrest was typically unfazed by the prospect of any prospective change – “When you’re an attacker you should be able to play either side or in behind the striker. I don’t mind where I play.” – but his remit of creating and scoring are always going to be the main requirement.

On that front his services will be required on Wednesday night as Celtic look to formally see off the challenge from FK Sarajevo after their 3-1 first leg win last week. Forrest admitted that the hosts opening goal in the tie on Tuesday evening offered something of a jolt to Celtic but few would expect any genuine resistance at Celtic Park this week.

“We need to make sure we get the first goal - the last thing we want is for it to be a long night, dragging out. We want a comfortable win and to be feeling good about ourselves after the game,” said Forrest. “We’ve got a lot of games ahead of us hopefully so we’d like to take some confidence from the game, start well, maybe get a few goals and then we’ll see where we are in the next round.”