Celtic summer signing told his ‘proper examination’ will come vs Rangers

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Celtic have faced Rangers three times this season.

Out of those three fixtures, Brendan Rodgers has tasted defeat twice after watching his Celtic side hammer Rangers 3-0 back in September.

Almost every Celtic first-team squad player that Rodgers has signed since he returned to the club has faced Rangers at some point over the last two seasons, except one.

Former Celtic star Pat Bonner believes that when that day comes, that is when a player who was signed by Rodgers last summer will really be judged.

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Pat Bonner praises Viljami Sinisalo’s Celtic league debut vs Hearts

Viljami Sinisalo made his league debut for Celtic in the win over Hearts and by all accounts, he performed fairly well and that was a sentiment shared by Bonner.

Bonner told the Daily Record [print edition page 48]: “He did well, he did everything he had to do and he didn’t look out of place.

“It was a big occasion for him and he has had to wait a long time for it after coming in last summer.

“It’s a big opportunity to show himself and for everyone else to see if he’s up to being a Celtic goalkeeper.”

Sinisalo will come under real scrutiny at Celtic against Rangers

However, despite that, Bonner believes that whilst Sinisalo is enjoying the plaudits of his Celtic performance against Hearts, he won’t be properly judged until he faces Rangers.

Bonner continued, “He’s waited long enough for the opportunity and has had to make sure he’s ready to come in when called on.

“Now the moment has arrived, and I’d imagine he’ll still have the gloves for the league games coming up against St Johnstone and Kilmarnock.

“Then there will be the Scottish Cup semi-final against St Johnstone. After that? Who knows?

“But, of course, there’s a big one still to come against Rangers at Ibrox. If he were to play in that, then it would be a proper examination of his temperament and ability. For now, though, it’s about building on Saturday’s game.”

Sinisalo made a couple of important saves against Hearts whilst the scores were tied at 0-0 and showed Celtic fans that they have a good stand-in keeper for Kasper Schmeichel.

With the big Dane’s return from injury not entirely clear, it seems that the young Finnish international will be given more opportunities to show that when that Rangers game comes, he can be trusted between the sticks.