AFTER SCORING A strong candidate for goal of the season against the reigning champions, it comes as little surprise to learn that Chris Forrester has been named the Airtricity/SWAI Player of the Month award for April.
The 19-year-old announced himself as one of the League of Ireland’s most exciting prospects with two expertly-executed finishes that night – the first a measured drive from distance, the second an exquisite lob over the head of Oscar Jansson after being put through by the back-heeled pass of Christy Fagan.
Accepting the accolade at Richmond Park yesterday, the unassuming teenager remained modest and credited the fine work of the club’s managerial team.
“I’m thrilled to receive the reward and am happy with how the season has gone so far,” he told TheScore. “It’s down to Liam (Buckley) and Trev (Croly). The training we do instils confidence in every player including myself. That has helped me a lot.”
Swapping one side of the Liffey for the other in January, the Smithfield native left the club he supported as a boy, Bohemians, to become the 15th player to join the Buckley revolution. He had just picked up Young Player of the Year at the Gypsies but admits he believed his chances of immediately nailing down a starting berth were slim.
“When I first came to Pat’s, I wasn’t expecting to be in the team at all. I was hoping to be on the bench with maybe a few appearances in the cup. There are great footballers at this club but I’ve surprised myself and my main aim now is to stay in the side and do the best I can.”
He has featured in the first XI in eight of their opening ten league fixtures as Pat’s remained unbeaten to climb to second behind early frontrunners Sligo Rovers.
The 5-1 annihilation of the Hoops last month was their most eye-catching result to-date and Forrester says that night will stay with him forever.
I’ll remember that game all my life. It was a brilliant match and a great goal but hopefully there are more like that to come. We’ve shown we can beat any team in the league and have no reason to fear anyone.
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For good reason, his name hit the headlines the following morning and clips of the goal went viral on the internet. With the attention comes added expectation to reproduce similar performances, but has it brought more pressure?
“You hear people say ‘you’re going to get kicked more’ and that but it doesn’t bother me. I just out there to play and I don’t really feel any pressure at all,” he reveals.
Forrester is currently operating as a winger but his skill set, which includes an eye for a pass and the ability to find the back of the net, suggests he could have a greater impact in a more central role. While content to play wherever he is asked to, the player himself is keen to carve a career out a career in midfield in the long term.
“When I build up the strength and stamina, I hope to play centre midfield but I’m happy where I am on the wing right now. If Liam needs me to play in the middle, then I can do a job in there.”
His manager seems to agree: “It’s his first season and his own personal performances have been top notch. He has worked extremely hard, scored some great goals, his link play and passing are very good and he’s got great fitness.
His abilities will allow him to play in a number of positions. Which one of them will be best for him? Potentially the middle of the park.”
As well as focusing on building up his upper body, the use of a nutritionist is a new experience for Forrester.
“My whole diet has changed. I have to eat a lot more and the weights programmes are essential if I’m to get bigger. The nutritionist is brilliant. I never had set plans before but we’ve been given specific guidelines now, which can only help.”
Talk of a move to England has inevitably come with the plaudits from fans and the media. He spent time on trial with Wolves and Watford in the past but the former Belvedere schoolboy, who took up organised football relatively late, is only looking as far as the next game – the visit of Cork City tonight.
“That (going on trial) was a massive experience and I learned a lot. It’s a dream come true for any young lad and you want to be playing in the best leagues in the world but I’m happy where I am and I’ll just let all that worry about itself. If it happens, it happens.
“Cork are big strong lads and we are struggling for bodies in the midfield but hopefully we can get the right result. It will be a massive test.
We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves whatever happens. Even after the Rovers game, all the lads were pretty humble in the win. We have a good chance of winning things this season, but we’ll see how it goes.
“The lads are all experienced and a lot of them have won leagues and that so they’ll know how to deal with it. We’ll be quietly confident.”
