Celtic icon Stiliyan Petrov believes that Kasper Schmeichel still deserves to hold his starting place over Viljami Sinisalo, despite the goalkeeper impressing in recent games.
Speaking on Scottish Football Social Club, Petrov said:
"Both are good guys. Sinisalo has shown that he can deal with the pressure. But Schmeichel is still number one. He’s still really good.
We know what kind of pressure they (goalkeepers) go under, even when the team is not doing well. Kasper has the mentality to still play at the highest level and produce good performances. Now, Martin O’Neill has two good goalkeeping choices. But I’d play Schmeichel."
Sinisalo has received praise after Schmeichel failed to perform. Many were calling for the Dane to be dropped after his performance against Stuttgart in the first leg, which saw the team lose 4-1, but he was still trusted between the sticks for a 2-1 loss to Hibernian.
It was finally in the second leg of the Stuttgart tie that Sinisalo got his chance, and he grabbed it by the scruff of the neck. Fans would be happy to see him continue in nets, but whether O'Neill trusts him enough is yet to be seen.
The Celtic manager has expressed his belief in Schmeichel over recent weeks. He understands that all players go through periods of bad form, but insists that the Dane has enough about him to come out on the other side.
Yet, Celtic supporters would be happy with the Hoops to part ways with the goalkeeper in the summer, with his contract set to expire and no apparent reason to renew it.
Trust in Sinisalo
Sinisalo has put in the work, and there has been nothing to indicate that he isn't ready to be Celtic's starting goalkeeper. The two goals he conceded were not his fault, and for someone thrown into the deep end at Ibrox with all eyes on him, he dealt with it really well.
There is already a lot of discussion over who will start the cup tie at Ibrox at the weekend, and Sinisalo would be a lot of people's choice. Schmeichel has been caught out recently, seemingly because he is unwilling to dive on his left side, and playing an out-of-form goalkeeper for a massive derby game seems extremely silly.
Alas, we'll have to see who is trusted against Aberdeen if we want to get a better idea as to who will be between the sticks at the weekend.