The Hoops stand in showed his mettle in the Ibrox cauldron and not even a flying Buckie bottle could prevent solid performance
Sport Michael Gannon 12:00, 05 May 2025
Viljami Sinisalo doesn’t know if he’ll be able to keep Kasper Schmeichel at bay until the Scottish Cup Final.
But the Celtic stand in stopper has shown he is more than capable of doing the business if he does keep his spot ahead of the Danish legend.
Sinisalo savoured his first Old Firm experience with a solid display in Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Rangers at Ibrox to continue an impressive run for the former Aston Villa kid.
The 23-year-old has proved he can step up and prove the Hoops with a safe pair of hands and boss Brendan Rodgers has admitted he’d have no worried pitching him in if Schmeichel falls short in his race to be fit.
The regular no.1 is back out on the grass training again after suffering a shoulder injury with his national side last month.
The 38-year-old is hoping to be back for Hampden – and Sinisalo admitted there’s every chance he might have to make way.
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But he’s ready and able to keep doing the job in the meantime and even if he does have to make way for the end of season showpiece, he’s already proved he has what it takes to be Schmeichel’s long term successor.
Sinisalo has made the most of his surprise opportunity in recent weeks and said: “Of course. Listen, as a Celtic keeper, you want to play well every single game. Different games require different things.
“Games like Sunday, you've got to be calm and be able to make saves when they come.
“There are different games where you've got to be really clean with your passing, and there might not be as many saves. Every game is a bit different. “I'm just trying to do my best to show that I can do the different sides of that. “Hopefully, I can keep doing that for the foreseeable.”
As for the Schmeichel shadow looming in the background ahead of Hampden, Sinisalo is fairly relaxed.
He said: “That's a tough question. Kasper's been brilliant for us for the whole season, he's been amazing.
“Up there, definitely, with one of the players of the season. What he brings to the squad, what he brings to the change room, you can't replace that. He's a big voice, he's a leader.
“Listen, Kasper's had an unbelievable career, he's done really well for us. If I stay in the team, if Kasper gets in the team, that's the manager's decision. “I'm just trying to prove that I can play for this football club every day in training and when the chances come, i.e. Sunday and the games after. I've just got to focus on the next game, whenever that is, and try and do my best.”
At least the younger knows his gaffer has his back. Rodgers raved about the shot stopper when he snapped him up on the same day as Schmeichel last summer and repeated his total faith in the Fin when he was called upon in the last month.
Rodgers wouldn’t lose much sleep if it came to the crunch and the understudy was the stride out at the National Stadium to face Aberdeen on May 24.
The keeper said: “That's nice to hear. It is pleasing to hear the manager say that. The manager's got a whole lot of experience in football, done great things in football, done great things here.
“To hear someone say that is great, obviously, but listen, I want to get better. “Every game is an opportunity to get better, and I'm very much driven and trying to be the best I can.
"So, whether that's playing here or playing next weekend or the games that I've played, I want to just try and showcase my ability to the people that probably haven't seen me as much.”
Sinisalo looked a cool character at Ibrox and he admitted he had some help keeping calm before the storm.
Schmeichel played a major role behind the scenes – along with keeper coach Stevie Woods – so the former Exeter City loan star was ready to walk into the lions’ den.
Dodging a flying Buckfast bottle might not have been part of the pep talk, but then again, it’s hardly a rare occurrence in this fixture these days so perhaps it was.
Sinisalo said: “The wild me kind of what to expect, going there to play. I'm not going to say exactly what, but kind of what to expect from the people there, the crowd.
“Kind of about staying calm, whatever happens, whether there's an early goal in the game, whether we score early, stuff like that.
“Stuff like that you get from people who have obviously experienced the game before. Mainly that, to be honest.
“There are enough players and staff who have been here a long time. Over the week, I spoke to them about what to expect and stuff like that.
“It's not new to me. I've been watching these games previously. You're here and you want to be part of it. You want to play in these games. Every footballer wants to play in the biggest games there are.
“This is one of them that you know, even if you're playing for a different club, you're watching this game. I loved every minute of it.
“I really enjoyed the away fans being back in. I thought the atmosphere was good. I enjoyed it. The only thing is getting those three points, but that's football.
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“It's a shame we couldn't get the result we wanted, but obviously we wanted to come here and win. Had that chance late on to go and nick it, but sometimes football goes that way, and you end up with a draw. I loved it.
“We wanted to go here and win. Gutted we didn't do that in the end. I thought we could have. I enjoyed it, and hopefully I can play many more of these games during my time at the club.”
