FRASER FORSTER has revealed Celtic taught him how to be a winner.
The England international goalkeeper, who joined Southampton for £10million in the summer of 2014, emphasised how important his spell at Parkhead was in making him the player he has become.
Forster enjoyed Champions League nights with the Hoops, including that memorable 2-1 triumph over Barcelona.
He said: “Myself, Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk all came to Southampton after playing for Celtic and I don’t think a lot of people realise how big a club it is until you’ve been there.
“I wouldn’t have missed those Champions League nights and Old Firm games at Parkhead for anything. It gave me the chance to play against some of the best players in the world.
“Very few players get the chance to play on such a big stage and even fewer cope with it because it comes with a different type of pressure.
“You are expected to win every game and it’s never as easy as that because the opposition are desperate to beat you every week and every dropped point is almost a crisis.”
Forster now has 337 senior club appearances and six England caps to his name.
Unfortunately, the former Parkhead fans’ favourite was a loser last week when the Saints went down 3-2 to Manchester United in the League Cup Final.
However, the skyscraping shotstopper is too despondent as the Wembley defeat.
He added: “As a team, we gave a fantastic account of ourselves – to come back from 2-0 down against United spoke volumes for our character and, on another day, we might have taken the glory.
“It wasn’t meant to be, but we can hold our heads up high after the way we performed and it was still a reminder of how far we have come as a club in the last seven or eight years.
“To win a trophy would have been a fitting reward for all the work that’s gone into lifting the club from League One and we’re not satisfied with where we are.
“I know the chairman and the owner want to keep moving forwards and it’s been a fantastic place to work since the day I signed.
“Anything’s achievable – we’ve had a taste of European football this season and reached a Wembley Final, and as a club we pride ourselves on building for the future instead of a quick fix.
“We’ve set high standards over the last two or three years and now we have to keep aiming highs. Playing regularly in Europe would be a realistic target.”
