Celtic’s Viljami Sinisalo has expressed his support for teammate Kasper Schmeichel on international duty with Finland.
Martin O’Neill hasn’t looked back since swapping old for young between his posts, but the news of Schmeichel’s devastating injury blow has since taken over the conversation.
Sinisalo has been commendable in his place, taking his golden opportunity to audition as number one so far this season.
Regardless, he says he feels “sad” for his teammate, also detailing advice from Celtic on his international commitments.
Has he done enough?
Viljami Sinisalo says Kasper Schmeichel situation is ‘not nice’
The 24-year-old said: “I feel sad about what happened to Kasper. The situation is not nice. I hope it’s not a career-ending thing.
“I’ve always wanted to play. When the moment comes, you have to perform and keep the shirt. A goalkeeper is only as good as his last match.”
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Early on Friday, Sinisalo played 90 minutes in his country’s 2-0 friendly win over New Zealand down under, saying on the experience: “I feel very proud and honoured to play against New Zealand.
“I was told I would play the day before. I have to be honest, travelling the long distance hasn’t felt any different personally. It’s fine.
“The flight was long, but both Celtic and the Football Association told me how to approach the flight, to be in the best possible condition when I arrived.
“You had to do the things that needed to be done. Whether it was with sleep or making sure your body has enough water.
“Everything was fine and we have prepared well. There were no problems personally.”
The 11,585 trek for Sinisalo certainly isn’t something you see in every international break; Finland remain in Auckland to face Cape Verde on Monday morning.
New Zealand will play Iran, Egypt and Belgium at this summer’s World Cup, but Finland won’t after finishing behind Poland and the Netherlands in their qualifying group.
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The career of Celtic’s Viljami Sinisalo
Sinisalo moved from Finnish youth football to Aston Villa in 2018 before gaining experience through various loan spells.
During his time at Ayr United, he notably played alongside Luke McCowan and has since earned six caps for the Finland national team.
His career truly took off at Exeter City, where his impressive 45 appearances earned him a spot in the League One Team of the Season.
Now at Celtic, he has made 19 appearances in 20 months, mostly spent as Schmeichel’s understudy. He initially deputised for the Dane after he first sustained his shoulder injury last season.
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