Kasper Schmeichel

That Raskin save he made, he was a clone of his Da

 

It shows what a bit of confidence can do lads, look at him, look at Cal etc.

 

What a game he had btw and was just thinking what’s the difference? Is it just confidence? Who knows man he was pinging some great passes about as well

 

Feel good factor does wonders for people

 

Glad to see him back to his best and hopefully it continues for the rest of the season, who knows maybe he has another season in him after that.

 

He's probably over the moon he can just get rid of the ball by any means instead of 2yd passes in the box.

 

From Martins press conference




What do you think of Kasper, since you've come in, and the influence you think he's had, not just on the pitch, but off the pitch?

Well, he has been speaking in Danish tonight, if he has been disparaging about me, and I don't know about it, then I can be equally disparaging of him! And will he ever live up to his father's reputation?! I think he's got ten caps to beat his dad!

Is he one of the players you've got to lean on?

Absolutely. Yeah, of course, really, really important. Big player, big player, won the Premier League with Leicester, fantastic achievement, absolutely terrific. So yeah, and he's made, more importantly, he's made big saves.

Against Falkirk, I think we were 1-0 up at the time, he made a really good save, a really good save that. Again, Rangers could have equalised in save, blocked it. So yeah, of course, leaning him, absolutely, leaning on Callum McGregor and James Forrest, I think it's done great for us. So, yeah, I genuinely couldn't be more pleased and pleased he's here.

 

Admitting in presser of squad was lacking confidence and problems behind scenes between manager and team an says it’s something we will keep to ourselves


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Full Press conference from Kasper

 

When Brendan Rodgers dropped the bombshell that he was leaving Celtic last Monday night, the news would have hurt many within the squad badly. But none more so than Kasper Schmeichel. Given the bond he had with the manager from his days at Leicester City, and the fact he then brought him to Celtic, it was, Schmeichel admits, a ‘horrible’ experience.


The Danish goalkeeper knew that he would be leaned upon heavily by the incoming manager to help steady the ship due to his vast experience, and that the younger players would be looking to him for guidance.

And for him, that job was made a great deal easier by the fact that the perfect man to help lift the Celtic dressing room and to bridge that gap from the shock departure of Rodgers arrived in the shape of Martin O’Neill

“There’s a Leicester connection, obviously,” Schmeichel said.

“We’ve met before and he’s worked with my dad on TV and I’ve played against his teams and all these kind of things, so we have a lot to talk about.




Brendan, I’ll always be incredibly grateful for everything he’s helped me in my career. I’ve won the FA Cup with him, he brought me to Celtic and won cups with him there.

“So, it’s always sad to see anybody lose their job and the staff. It is sad, but it’s such a horrible thing because it is just football and, as players, you have to get on with it.

“We had a game against Falkirk, we had a game against Rangers. You have to go and win.

“Everyone knows Martin is a great character and, like I say, every encounter I’ve had with him has been a positive one.

“We have a lot of people in common from Leicester. We talk about the training grounds, where did you live, where did I live, the kit men and all these kind of things. All these people that you cross paths with in football. So, instantly, you have a lot to talk about.

“But his footballing knowledge is humongous. And for me, I think the most important thing is consistency. Particularly the youngsters, maybe that haven’t been through these scenarios, this is sometimes what happens and now it’s about absorbing as much knowledge and much information.

“You now have someone who has so much experience. Absorb as much information as you can. Learn as much as you can. That’s certainly what I’m doing. So, yeah, it’s the way it goes.”

As well as that vast footballing knowledge, Schmeichel says that O’Neill’s presence alone has been a significant factor in lifting some of the clouds that had been gathering over Celtic Park.

“Some people just have an aura about them,” he said.

“For me personally, I’ve obviously known him for a long time. So, I know the type of character that he is and sometimes confidence is a massive thing in football, sometimes you need a little arm around you and he’s been really good at doing that, particularly with the young players. And just giving them that reminder of what good players they actually are.”

There was a buzz around the local press pack here in Herning ahead of Celtic’s game against FC Midtjylland on Thursday night, with the media room packed out to welcome home the returning hero and to present him with a Danish flag to mark his 39th birthday.




Despite his advancing years, Schmeichel says his recent form is an indication that he is still in fine fettle, and that he is enjoying his football as much as he ever did.

“I've honestly never paid a thought to it [my age] ever,” he said.

“I've never felt it, don't feel it. I've honestly never taken any notice of it.

“I love playing football. I can't imagine a world of not playing football. I'm fit and well and playing for a massive club, I’m playing internationally. Hopefully, with all due respect, we'll beat Scotland and go into the World Cup.

“Life is great, and I feel great. It's never been something that's ever crossed my mind. I've always felt that the biggest advantage you can have is age and experience.

“If you're still physically able and you have that experience of 900 plus games, then that can only be an advantage.

“I've felt good all season. I think the way I've always attacked the game is that I look at every single action in a game. There'll be no bigger critic than myself.

“There's not an action in the game where I thought I couldn't have done something better than that. I analyse everything.

“The aim for any goalkeeper, I would always think and always want if I was a coach or a manager, would be consistency.

“That’s what I aim to bring, stability and consistency.”

 

He certainly has looked back to his best the past couple of games.

 

Kasper Schmeichel has revealed that he won't sit down with Celtic bosses until later in the season over a possible contract extension at Parkhead.


The Denmark goalkeeper joined the Hoops on a free transfer from Anderlecht in the summer of 2024 but is now nearing the end of his two-year deal, with his current contract set to expire in the summer



Celtic bolstered their ranks between the posts with the signing of Finland international Viljami Sinisalo in the summer window but continue to be linked with a number of keepers includingScotland stopper Angus Gunn and Manchester City's Stefan Ortega.



Schmeichel - who turned 39 last week - insists that the plan has always been to postpone any talk about his future until the new year




Speaking ahead of Denmark's crunch World Cup qualifier against Belarus on Saturday - where he could win caps number 119 and 120 - he said: "The club has bigger things to think about than my contract right now.

"We have always had an agreement that we will talk about the future quietly in February or March. We have to see where we stand by then. Right now we have a special situation at the club, so my focus is not on my contract at all


It has become so in the world of football that as soon as you are 28 years old, you are old – and then suddenly I am far, far too old.

"As soon as there is a three-digit number in front of the age, no one will make a contract longer than six months into the future."

Celtic have found scoring goals on a regular basis hard to come by in the first two and a half months of the season but veteran Schmeichel is hopeful that they will be able to rediscover their magic touch in and around the box that saw them find the back of the net with ease last year.





He added: "Last year we broke all records for how many goals we scored. This year we have had a bit more difficulty scoring goals. We have gone through a period where we have sold a lot of players and we have had a change of coach.

"It can happen to all clubs, and now the club has to find a direction to go in, and the club can use the international break to figure that out."

 

If he signs a new deal it has to be as back up.

 

We will probably seek to replace him with Craig Gordon to continue the trend of replacing the retiring goalkeeper with someone older

 

To be fair he has looked back to his best since Martin O'Neill took over so hopefully he can continue that the rest of this season. In terms of anything beyond this summer we will see. I had wondered would be look to retire after the World Cup Finals next summer assuming Denmark make it.