JAMES FORREST is back to his very best according to Celtic manager Neil Lennon, who says he couldn’t do without the winger.

Forrest got Celtic’s second of the night and his 15th of the season all told as he smashed home at McDiarmid Park during an irresistible first half from the champions, and Lennon puts much of the credit for a scintillating attacking display at the feet of Forrest.

“I thought he was brilliant,” Lennon said. “He was back to his very best.

“He scored a brilliant goal and his all-round game was superb. He’s back to his very, very best, I was delighted with him and he’s a player I can’t do without.”

Lennon also gave praise to left-back Greg Taylor, who turned in a man-of-the match performance as he set up Celtic’s third goal for Leigh Griffiths and ran rampant down the left all evening.

The Scotland man has had to be patient since his move from Kilmarnock in the summer, but Lennon thinks he is getting a lot closer to where he needs to be to nail down a regular place.

“That was his best performance for me,” he said. “He can be delighted with it.

“We were working on him a little bit yesterday, and he put three or four superb crosses in, which I hadn’t seen before.

“We worked with him yesterday on that. He’s a willing learner and I thought his all-round game was very good.

“I was a happy man overall but the first half was absolutely outstanding.

“The fluidity of the team, the chances we created and the attitude of the team – the overall quality of football and the pace we played at was breathtaking. I’m a very happy man tonight.

“There were some outstanding individual performances, but I couldn’t speak highly enough about the team as a whole.”