This season has largely been one of utter misery for Celtic fans. They have crashed out of the Champions League against Kairat on penalties, endured Wilfried Nancy's infamous 33-day stint as manager, and witnessed seven Premiership defeats already, their highest tally in a single campaign since 2013. However, now, there are signs of improvement, with Martin O'Neill perhaps starting to figure out his best lineup, and that includes in goal.
On Sunday, the Hoops dumped fierce rivals Rangers out of the Scottish Cup, prevailing on penalties following a tense goalless draw at Ibrox. Among the many heroes with a four-leaf clover upon their breast was Viljami Sinisalo. The Finnish international has now started four successive matches, coming into the team in Stuttgart, subsequently starting Premiership fixtures at Ibrox and Pittodrie too.
This takes his total to 17 appearances for the club since arriving from Aston Villa for £1 million two years ago, of which nine have come this season. Fair to say, he has impressed in recent weeks:
"I absolutely think he'll play to the end of season now... there's going to be big pressure games, but that's what he's going to face if he wants to be a Celtic number one... he's shown what he can do... I genuinely thought he was excellent."Cammy Bell
So, with Motherwell at Parkhead up next on Saturday, Sinisalo will continue to don the gloves and rightly so, but there are two sides to every story. The man he has displaced in between the sticks is 39-year-old Kasper Schmeichel, who was excellent last season, but his form has nosedived dramatically his time round.
The veteran shot-stopper has made countless high-profile errors throughout the campaign, most recently against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park and then when Stuttgart were comfortable 4-1 winners in Glasgow. Thus, many supporters were calling for Schmeichel to be dropped for weeks, but were very much surprised when he actually was.
The Dane sat on the bench and seemed to be supportive of Sinisalo as the Celts claimed an impressive if ultimately futile Europa League victory at Neckarstadion. However, he has not been seen since. Officially, Schmeichel missed the first Old Firm due to illness, with O'Neill then stating ahead of the trip to Aberdeen, "Kasper is still not feeling great and needs time to recover".
For Sunday's Scottish Cup success, Schmeichel was once again nowhere to be seen, with Ross Doohan continuing in the role of substitute goalkeeper. One can only take O'Neill's word for it that the 39-year-old is ill, but the timing seems mysterious, with some speculating that he is not pleased about losing his spot in the side.
Even if he does return, with only nine Premiership fixtures to go, as well as a Scottish Cup semi and potential final at Hampden, perhaps the out-of-contract Schmeichel has made his 88th and final appearance for the club.