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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Josh McCafferty

Sinisalo on texts from 'supportive' Kasper Schmeichel before Celtic league debut

Stand-in Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo is grateful for the support of number-one stopper Kasper Schmeichel

The veteran picked up a shoulder injury while on international duty with Denmark, the extent of which remains to be seen. 

Sinisalo resultantly came into the Celtic lineup against Heart of Midlothian on Saturday and performed amicably, picking up a clean sheet as his side triumphed 3-0. 

The Finn has played second fiddle to Schmeichel throughout the campaign so far but has the full backing of his colleague: "We swapped a couple of messages," said Sinisalo. 


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"He’s been really, really, really supportive. He’s someone I’ve always looked up to since I was really, really young.

"Obviously, we wish all the very best for him and a speedy recovery. But, yeah, he’s been great since day one when we both came in, and we’ve been really close.

"Like I said, he’s someone I’ve always looked up to a lot, and he’s been great with me."

Sinisalo joined Celtic from Aston Villa last summer in a £1m move. 

Before the weekend, he had registered just one appearance for Brendan Rodgers' side: "It was great to play, I was looking forward to it a lot before the game," he said. 

"When you get an opportunity to play for this football club, you’ve got to take it with both hands and hopefully, I can do that.

"You’ve got to have that confidence. I’ve always been a confident man.

"One coach back in the day always said to me, have confidence to the point of arrogance. Never go above that. You can’t be arrogant, but you’ve got to be confident.

"Your goalkeeper needs to look confident and looks like it belongs to the place where he is.

“So, yes, obviously, I’ll back myself. And however many games that is, I’ve got to back myself, which I will.

"You’ve got to do that. As a goalkeeper, you’ve got to be ready for your moment. That’s why I’ve worked hard every day since I started my professional career and every day since I signed for this football club in the summer.

"Every footballer wants to play and when you get that moment, that chance, you’ve got to take it and keep ticking the games away and playing well and stuff like that. So, yeah, it’s a mental game. Especially for a club like this, it’s mental.

"You’ve got to be switched on at every single moment in the game because things can happen so quickly."

Celtic can take yet another step towards a fourth consecutive Scottish Premiership title when they travel to face St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park this Sunday. 

Set to be backed by three stands of raucous travelling supporters, Sinisalo says he and his teammates must not get too far ahead of themselves. 

He said: "Listen, one game at a time. It’s about getting three points here, and we move our focus to the weekend.

"That’s St Johnstone, so we’ll try and tick them off one game by game and make sure we get the three points at St Johnstone on Sunday."

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