Hibs rivals in keeper crisis as Celtic great makes Kasper Schmeichel 'huff' claim over necessary goalie swich
Martin O’Neill rages at Hoops fans over protest - so can Hibs capitalise on unrest to make history?
It has occasionally felt as if Kasper Schmeichel has some sort of personal vendetta against Hibs. From turning in a Man of the Match performance in a horribly undeserved away loss for David Gray’s men back in the gaffer’s first season, to a Scottish Cup Final blunder that handed Aberdeen the prize of guaranteed European league stage football that should, by rights, have ended up at Easter Road, he’s got history with Hibs.
So there won’t be much sympathy among Hibees for the Danish No. 1 currently coming under sustained fire – including a bona fide Celtic legend calling for him to make way for his stand-in – in the wake of last night’s woeful performance in the Europa League. Despite Martin O’Neill leaping to the defence of Schmeichel, he was clearly at fault for two of the goals in a 4-1 home loss to Stuttgart.
And that left all-time Celtic great Pat Bonner calling for Finnish goalie Viljami Sinisalo to get the nod against Hibs at Celtic Park on Sunday. Even if it risks Schmeichel going in a “huff” with his experienced gaffer.
Bonner, speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, said: “My opinion is that Sinisalo should have got a run in the team. He did well when he was in before.
“Let’s see what he can do. Put Schmeichel in as the back-up keeper; he’s experienced, he can go in when needed.
“But the question is whether Schmeichel would be happy with that. Martin doesn’t want to upset the dressing room, which is maybe even why he’ll stick with him – to not have an experienced player a little bit in the huff.
“If it was me, I would be putting Sinisalo in. I would have put him in earlier and let him have a run at it.”
Sinisalo in line for a start on Sunday?
On O’Neill leaping to the defence of his keeper post-match, Bonner said: “He was always going to bounce the Schmeichel question away. He was never going to say he was going to drop him. He will talk to Kasper and see how he feels.”
‘No-one is un-droppable’ - Scotland great weighs in
Former Tartan Army favourite James McFadden, who was working the game alongside Bonner from the commentary box, went even further in his calls for O’Neill to make a change, declaring: “There shouldn’t ever be a player that’s un-droppable.
“It’s definitely in his (the manager’s) thinking. I get the fact that he’s defending him. And he has done well for him in certain games.
“But they’re fighting domestically for the league and the Scottish Cup. There is a little bit of doubt there. There has to be. Any player who is underperforming, your place comes under threat.
“Kasper Schmeichel is very likely to leave Celtic in the summer. That leaves you with Sinsisalo and Ross Doohan.
“So if you continue to play an underperforming player, the guy sitting and waiting for his opportunity is going to get frustrated as well. It may well be in his thinking that he needs to make a change in the goalkeeping department.
“He should think himself fortunate to still be playing every single game.”
O’Neill was stout in is public defence of Schmeichel, although he pointedly didn’t break down the goalie’s part in any of the “really poor goals” conceded by his team, the Hoops boss saying: “All I would say is we played Feyenoord in a game that we probably had to win. I think it was 1-1 at the time, and he made an unbelievable save. Otherwise we wouldn’t be here tonight. This is a team game – and we have to deal with it.
“Kasper Schmeichel has had, I’m quite sure, some dips in his time. And he’s come roaring back.”
Asked outright if he would switch goalies for the visit of Hibs, O’Neill didn’t dismiss the idea, saying: “Sinisalo has played in my time here. Tonight is gone. So Sunday is the next big thing. Our focus now has to be Sunday. Sunday is most important for us.”
Hibs chasing first Celtic Park win in 16 years
Whoever lines up between the sticks for Celtic, Hibs will hope to tap into a reserve of unrest among the home support, as Gray looks to become the first Easter Road gaffer to bag an away win over the Hoops since 2010. And O’Neill was clearly furious with his own team’s fans for disrupting last night’s game with a tennis ball protest that caused the game to be stopped.
“Anyone who thinks that’s a good idea needs their heads examining,” said the Irishman. “Really, I’ve got to say.
“I’ve been the manager here at this football club when teams like Juventus were scared stiff coming. Scared stiff. There was like a cause that embraced players, managers and crowd, everything.
“Can you imagine being a Stuttgart player? You’re on five or six minutes, you’re worried about the crowd. The atmosphere to begin with is fantastic.
“And then that happens. It disrupts the game, obviously. And secondly, if I’m a Stuttgart player, I’m thinking: ‘Yeah, I don’t feel too bad here. I don’t feel too bad.’ Instead of being intimidated by the situation.
“That helps no-one. Who is to say what it does? I genuinely don’t see the point of it. It doesn’t help.
“More to the point, the impact it has on the opposition. It’s not great to see.”