Kasper Schmeichel is undoubtedly one of Celtic’s most important and experienced players.
As such, it was no surprise that Celtic fans were delighted when the goalkeeper had extended his contract for a further year at Parkhead.
Schmeichel has admitted it was the easiest contract decision of his entire career, a resounding statement given he has represented clubs such as Manchester City, Leeds United and his beloved Leicester City.
He’s here until 2026 and is likely to finish his fantastic career at Celtic Park with hopefully many more trophies in the cabinet.
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Schmeichel has been speaking exclusively on the official Celtic FC podcast recently and discussed signing his new deal, the pressures of playing for the club whilst hailing figures such as skipper Callum McGregor and goalkeeping coach Stevie Woods.
The great Dane was also quizzed on whether there was a specific moment when he realised he wanted to commit his future to Celtic.
And Schmeichel actually pinpointed the time when he first met up with his new Celtic teammates in the USA during the club’s pre-season tour in the summer.
He said: “In terms of being in football for many, many years, you know of Celtic – everyone knows about Celtic. And having played here for a different team, you know the size of the club.
“For me, you get to a certain point of your life and career where you understand the opportunities to play for the size and stature of these clubs, they don’t come around very often.
“To have that opportunity to represent a club like this, that’s the kind of thing you have to grab with both hands when that chance comes. It’s definitely not something I take for granted.
“I understand the responsibility to bear that shirt and to walk amongst the legends of this club. It’s a big honour and I’m proud to play for the club.
“In terms of one moment, there’s not one moment, there’s lots of different moments. Obviously I met the squad in America for the first time, but just seeing how many people turned up there just reaffirmed my belief of the size of the club.
“But also just now outside of football or if I’m abroad, the amount of people who are Celtic fans, you just realise, ‘wow this is a massive club’.”
But Schmeichel finds one aspect a ‘massive challenge’
There’s no doubt some players arrive to play for Celtic and crumble under the pressure given the demands from the fans and the sheer history of the club.
Schmeichel admits that he does thrive in that environment, which has been evident so far this season, but says the challenge of striving for perfection in every game can be difficult.
The 38-year-old continued: “You can’t play for a club like Celtic without loving that kind of pressure. The pressure of playing for Celtic is probably higher than what I have experienced in my career.
“In the sense that you’re not only just looking to win, because winning here is just part of the deal, but you also have to be as close to perfect as possible and striving for perfection every time.
“And that is a massive challenge because you know you’re never going to be perfect, but you’ve got to try and be as close as possible to that.”
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