Paulo Bernardo defends Celtic teammate after brutal treatment and unfair criticism

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Paulo Bernardo has perhaps had a unique vantage point over the past few months.

The midfielder has been unable to play after Bernardo picked up an injury vs Raith Rovers in the Scottish Cup.

That has allowed the £3.5million man to watch his teammates closely to see where they are going right and possibly where improvement can be made.

Bernardo has seen the Kasper Schmeichel criticism from his international break with Denmark with the PFA having to defend the goalkeeper from a hit-piece in the Danish media.

• READ MORE: What Danish media are saying about Celtic star Kasper Schmeichel after captain’s performance vs Portugal

Paulo Bernardo defends Kasper Schmeichel who ‘should get more respect’

Nicklas Bendtner urged Schmeichel to retire and all that came as he picked up an injury which will rule him out against Hearts and perhaps beyond.

So Bernardo believes his teammate deserves more for the career he has had to date.

“Kasper should get more respect, but this is football,” Bernardo said. “When things go bad on the pitch, we are all criticised by some people. Cristiano Ronaldo still gets criticised – and he has won five Ballon d’Ors. It’s part of football and we need to deal with it.

“It’s easy to criticise, but you look at the level he has got to. I bet it won’t affect him though.

“He is a great leader with personality and a strong mentality. I don’t think he will be affected by that. Kasper knows how to deal with that.

“He is looking forward to getting out on the pitch again.”

Schmeichel has had a strong club season so far and the Dane is chasing Celtic records in the Scottish Premiership.

Bernardo reveals how vital Schmeichel is to Celtic

He also signed a new deal at 38 and is the exact type of ball playing goalie that manager Brendan Rodgers loves in his side.

Now Bernardo has explained how vital Schmeichel is to how Celtic play. And that’s another reason the stopper should be more respected.

“He’s very important to us. You can see on the pitch how good Kasper is.

“He’s improved our type of play because we can use him all the time. Kasper does everything well as a goalkeeper.”