Celtic icon Joe Hart is standing by Kasper Schmeichel amid the Dane having a difficult time in the Hoops, just days after Stan Petrov did the same.
Speaking to BBC about Schmeichel's form, Hart said:
"That’s life. That’s football. He’ll have been in it before. No one has a perfect career, but I think it’s important now that he’s still a massive part of the squad. You know, he still has a huge influence on the team. No getting away from it, whether he’s on the field or not."
Schmeichel has failed to make Celtic's last three starting lineups, with the reason for his recent absence being revealed as an illness. Instead, Viljami Sinisalo has been trusted between the sticks, and it's safe to say that he's impressed fans so far.
Supporters were upset about Schmeichel's errors in the team's 4-1 loss at Parkhead to VfB Stuttgart in the Europa League, where they felt that the Dane could have done better with some of the shots he faced. It was a terrible night for Schmeichel, but is it too soon to rule him out completely?
Giving a helping hand
With the World Cup coming up, he'll be eager to work his way back into the squad to improve his chances of being selected for the competition. Even though some fans would rather see the back of the goalkeeper, we think that he still has a lot to offer.
His contract expires in the summer, and it's safe to say Celtic won't be renewing it. With that being said, he can seriously help us out from now until the end of the season, especially with a lot of games coming up where rotation will be necessary.
Even if he is left out of the squad, he's still a big figure to have in the dressing room, and his experience will help everyone in this final push for the Scottish Premiership title.
Plus, we can never rule out anyone at Celtic. Some may forget, but when Hart's time was approaching its end, he also came under a lot of criticism, mainly for his play on the ball, which was a big part of our football under Ange Postecoglou. People will forget that just because he's now a club legend, but it wasn't always smooth sailing.
And it hasn't been for Schmeichel either, but there's still plenty a goalkeeper of his stature can give to the Hoops. Let's just hope he can recapture his form sooner rather than later.