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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Robbie Hanratty

Kasper Schmeichel earns praise from Celtic captain impressed with newbie 'authority'

Kasper Schmeichel has already shown Callum McGregor that he has the mentality required to be successful at Celtic

The former Leicester City favourite has been brought in on a one-year deal to replace Joe Hart.

He will mentor Viljami Sinisalo, who also arrived from Aston Villa this summer, and could make his first bow in Celtic colours when they face Manchester City at the Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on Wednesday. 

For now, 37-year-old Schmeichel has been getting to know his new teammates, and Celtic captain, Callum McGregor, has detailed how his early conversations with the Danish international have ticked all the boxes in what the club are looking for in a player. 


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"He’s a vastly experienced goalkeeper, played at a really good level and he comes in with that authority and confidence about himself which is excellent," the Hoops skipper explained. "That’s what you want from your senior players.

“He’s going to be asked to play a big part, so it’s nice that he feels like he’s part of it already. I’ve had a couple of chats with him already. He’s a really nice guy, he wants to win, and he wants to do well.

“He’s saying all the right things. When you have football conversations there are certain things you want to hear and he’s certainly ticking all those boxes.

“It’s great for him to come in and feel so comfortable and hopefully we can build a really good, successful working relationship as well as a personal one as well.”


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McGregor wants to build on Saturday's impressive 4-0 victory over DC United by continuing their U.S tour with eye-catching performances - not only to prepare themselves strongly for Scottish Premiership duties and the subsequent cup competitions to come, but to also give the large Celtic contingent over in America an experience they will never forget. 

“I thought the boys were fantastic,” the midfielder told Celtic TV. “A lot of the football was really slick. I thought the game was excellent so hopefully we can continue like that. “We’ve got to keep building. We have two tough games coming up against big clubs. I know it’s early on but that’s the level in terms of Champions League and European competition.  “It’ll be a nice test for us early on to see where we’re at in terms of playing our style against another attacking style.  “We want to hit the ground running for the league campaign and the cup competitions that are coming so it’s important that we continue to build."


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“Everyone who plays for Celtic will tell you that the support is unbelievable," McGregor continued.

“It doesn’t matter where you go in the world, you’ll find somebody with a Celtic jersey.

"Everywhere you go, there are Celtic jerseys. It shows you the gravitas the club has got.

“They don’t get to watch a lot of games live so it’s important that while we’re here, we try and give the best of ourselves.

“It’s been a brilliant tour so far and obviously we want to keep ramping it up now and making sure the game-time and training is spot on.”

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