Viljami Sinisalo has quickly become a player that supporters love since taking his spot between the sticks over Kasper Schmeichel. The Dane was failing to impress, and now, it's Sinisalo's spot to lose.
Coming in for the away leg of Celtic's Europa League tie against Stuttgart, he kept the home side out as the Hoops secured a 1-0 victory. He impressed in the 2-2 draw against Rangers at Ibrox, with another respectable performance on the road at Pittodrie in the 2-1 win over Aberdeen. Returning to Ibrox, he was in net for a 4-2 penalty victory over the Gers.
Since becoming the regular No.1, he has yet to lose a game and hasn't made any major mistakes. He has established himself very quickly, and he'll be eager to continue his good run against Motherwell on Saturday.
Speaking to Celtic TV, Sinisalo spoke about his current feelings:
"I’m loving every moment of it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and play, like every footballer does. I spoke with the manager about what he wants from me and what he wants from his goalkeeper in general.
Obviously, I’m trying to be that by showing my own personality on the pitch and doing the best I can. I think as a group, the four games that we’ve just had it just shows the character within the changing room.
A lot of people might write us off, but it just shows that Celtic are not going to go anywhere. We’re going to fight until the very last game, and that’s what we’ve done.
We’ve come away from them four really difficult away days, all within their own right, difficult in different ways. We took some positive results out of them, so yeah, I’m happy."
Sinisalo has impressed fans, and he also spoke about how he hopes he has managed to impress manager Martin O'Neill:
"Yeah, I assume [I've impressed O'Neill], I hope so! I’m trying my best, obviously. It’s a continuous conversation that you always have. I’m trying to be as good as I can for him, to help the team win.
I’m obviously trying to learn all the time I play. I’m probably my own biggest critic in terms of I’m a perfectionist, I want to be perfect, I want to do things better and better and better.
It’s just about listening to the staff, him, Woodsy and everyone else and taking it on board and what I can do better in whatever way it is to help the team be successful at the end of the day."
The goalkeeper is keen to return to Parkhead after those four difficult away games:
"It’s been a hectic last four games for everyone, a lot of travel, overnight stays in hotels and stuff. So it’s great to get home, especially after such a positive run of four games. We’ve just got to kick on now.
You’re only as good as the next game, that’s how it goes, and we know how big these games are for us. We’ve got nine league games left and hopefully a couple more left in the cup. I’m sure we’ll be fighting right to the very end."
Sinisalo deserves to keep the spot
Sinisalo deserves to keep his spot in nets. He is a brilliant addition to the matchday squad, and it's probably best if Schmeichel plays little games from now until the end of his contract.
The Dane hasn't had the best season, and hopefully, he can go on to better things should he continue to keep playing professional football after his contract with the Celts runs down.
A lot of supporters would probably be happy going into next season with Sinisalo as our starting goalkeeper. That takes some pressure off recruitment and means we can focus on other positions. There is a lot of interest in players, including Hearts' Claudio Braga, and it'll certainly be an interesting summer.