Kasper Schmeichel

Think it's time to call it a day.

 

Fantastic save first half but so many dodges moments throughout.

I think he has to do a lot better for the goal, mental chasing the ball there

 

Just looks a bomb scare now. Out of shape, slow and positionally questionable.

 

He's at the stage of decline that I was expecting when he signed last summer. He was great the first half of last season but the cracks have been showing for a while now.

 

Puts us in the merde with his passing at least once a game now it seems. I like the guy but he wouldn't be my number 1.

 

What's he thinking at the goal he makes the boys mind up for him. The 'pass' in to Nygren as well was awful

 

Great save but dodgy passing and coming out for some mental balls and then rooted for ones he should've collected..

Hopefully just a blip..

 

Sloppy.
And coming out and ending up in no mans land is a cardinal sin for any goalkeeper.

 

Can't believe he berated Nygren after playing a hospital ball to him

 

Aye some cracking saves tonight but put is in a lot of trouble and for me shares some fault for their goal.

 

Just give Sinisalo a run so we can make a call on him to know whether we need a new one in the summer.

 

This'll be his last season. No doubt about it.

He's definitely on the decline. He's still head and shoulders above everything domestically but on the European stage, he's going to save our arses but also sell some needless heart in mouth moments.

We need a plan for the future.

Considering we can't plan for the present, we could be in trouble.

 

Aye I couldn't believe that myself, was abysmal from Schmeichel and he telegraphed what he was doing so easily, clearly his fault.

 

In fairness as much of a shambles as we are I think we’re fine with sinisalo stepping up next season as the number 1. It’s probably the only position we’ve actually planned ahead for and will be fine when the time comes for Schmeichel to go.

His save in the first half was world class, shot stopping will never be an issue but there’s undoubtedly cracks in his game beginning to show, which is inevitable given his age.

 

Yeah, I agree.

Only because of history, I think Sinisalo being decent and looking like he could step into the nets has been a pure fluke. Not for one second do I believe that is because of future planning.

 

That’s what was said when he signed though. Sinisalo said it himself.

 

The manager was talking a lot about how well the team has played defensively. Clearly, you're a part of that. How much is that music to your ears, and how well do you think you and the guys at the back do?

Yeah, I think we've done very well. I think, at least in the time I've been here, we've been very, very solid. I think any good team is built on a solid defence. We as a team press very, very high up the pitch, and we defend very, very well everywhere. We minimise the opposition's chances. I think we give ourselves a platform to go and win games. I'm very, very happy with that.








For you and the players, how important is Europe this season? It's not where you wanted it to be in the Champions League. So, how important is Europe this season?

It's massively important. This is our reality. We can't affect the past now. All we can do is go and do as well as possible in this competition. So, it's vitally important for us.

In terms of the fans tomorrow, the manager is urging them to turn up, he's urging them to make noise, to make the atmosphere as hostile as possible. What would your message be to the fans, some of whom are unhappy with the way the club is being run at the minute?

Listen, I completely understand the fans' frustrations. All I will say is we have the most incredible fans. Whether it's Champions League, Scottish League, or Europa League, when we line up, I always look at the opposition bench and see their reaction. That just always tells me that this is special.







I've played a lot of places, a lot of stadiums, and there's nothing quite like this. So, for us as players, it's something we definitely don't take for granted. For me personally, the career I've had, there is nothing more motivating than coming out at this pitch here, full stadium with that noise.

I completely understand the frustration; I completely understand the fans wanting to voice their opinions. But we also need you. That would be my message.

We need you, and it's up to us, of course, to go and produce and to get that noise and get that energy in the stadium. That's one of our biggest strengths, the support that we have. So, as many small advantages as we can get, we need to take them







Is there anything the players might have to do differently tomorrow, with there being that 29-minute planned silent protest, not having that vocal backing, that vocal motivation from the supporters? Is there anything you think the players might need to do differently to motivate themselves for that opening period of the game?

We need to score, because people will cheer if we score, I think. No, I think at the end of the day, it's our job to go and play football. Many of us went through a period in COVID without anybody in the stadium, so it's not a new feeling to play in the quiet. But like I say, any time the noise in the stadium is what I know it can be, then it's a huge advantage to us.







In terms of your ambitions for this competition, we saw how well the team did in the Champions League last season, getting through the league phase. Do you have a real feeling that this team are capable of going really deep into this competition?






That's certainly the aim. Any time you put on a Celtic shirt, you're expected to win, whether it's in Europe, whether it's in the Europa League, Champions League, whatever it is, you're expected to win. And that's the expectations that we have for ourselves. So, like I said before, this is an extremely important competition for us.








I wonder, on those protests and how silent it may be tomorrow night, how do you use your experience to navigate it yourself, but also to help younger players through that, who might not have been in that environment before?

I think the big difference is that this is our job. As much as we've all probably been football fans from a young age, a lot of us would have played youth team games and things where there hadn't been any noise and there had been no crowds and these things.

So, it won't be something unusual to play in the quiet, but at the end of the day, you're playing at Celtic Park in front of 60,000, so there doesn't really need to be anything said. Like I said, it's up to us to bring that energy, it's up to us to score goals and get people on their feet and get people shouting.

What could a positive result tomorrow night in this competition do for confidence and momentum, not just in the Europa League, but domestically too?

Winning breeds confidence, regardless of where it is or when it is; winning always breeds confidence. Any time you put on this shirt, you've got to win. There's not really any difference between winning in any other competition.

What type of challenge are you expecting from Braga tomorrow night? What do you think they'll bring to Celtic Park?

I think they'll be a tough team to play against, very well organised. I think they'll be aggressive, I think as a team they have good technical players, they're very well structured and organised. It'll be a tough game, but I'm very confident that if we play up to our potential, then we'll be able to win the game.

Can you try to spin the hurt from not making it into the Champions League into a motivating factor in the Europa League to really make a dent in this competition and get as far as you can?

We can't affect the past. That's the nature of being a professional footballer: you have disappointments, you have highs, you have lows, you have to learn to deal with them and move on very fast.

We had to move on after not making it into the Champions League; we had to refocus, and that's what we've done. So that's in the past; all we can do now is focus on getting good results in this competition.

What memories do you have from Portugal, and have you followed the Portuguese league?

Lots of good memories. Obviously, I lived there for two years and had a good part of my childhood there. It's a place that will always be special to me and my family.

We did our pre-season in Cascais this summer, and it was the first time for probably 20 years that I've been back to see my old house and my old school. It was nice to see.

It holds a lot of good memories. Obviously, because of my connection to Portugal and to Sporting and these kinds of things, I look at the results. I have a couple of former teammates who play for Sporting, so I keep an eye on it.