VILJAMI SINISALO has fired a warning to glove rivals eyeing his No.1 shirt at Celtic.
The Finnish international, who took over from Kasper Schmeichel in March before the Danish legend announced his enforced retirement, has made his position clear.
Sinisalo insisted he had “no intention” of moving aside as the champions stepped up their search for another keeper with Blackburn’s Balazs Toth and Southampton’s Gavin Bazunu already linked with the Hoops.
But the 24-year-old Finn, who is preparing to face LASK in the second leg of the Champions League play-off in Austria tomorrow night with the Hoops 3-0 ahead, is confident he’ll remain in Martin O’Neill’s team.
RISE AND SHINE…Viljami Sinisalo safely clutches a hight ball while Auston Trusty holds off Dundee United striker Lachlan Rose in Celtic’s 4-0 Premier Sports League Cup win.
Sinisalo said: “I’ve no reason to think otherwise. Competition brings the best out of players and I’m not really fussed who gets brought in.
“It’s the same for any player. I’ve got the shirt and I’ve said it many times, I want to keep it.
“I’ve got no intention of letting go of that because I’ve worked so hard to get it.
“It’s an amazing club to play for and once you get that taste of it, of winning trophies, playing in the Champions League nights, why wouldn’t you want to do that more and more?
“That’s my mentality, everyone knows that.”
Sinisalo, who joined Celtic from Aston Villa in a £1million deal two years ago after a loan spell at Exeter City, only has Ross Doohan, brought back from Aberdeen last summer, as back-up and boss O’Neill acknowledges the club urgently require a third shotstopper.
WARM-UP…Viljami Sinisalo prepares for Celtic’s 5-1 Premiership triumph over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park earlier this month.
The man in charge, speaking to the Scottish Sun, continued: “I’ve never wanted to go about my career and just watch others play.
“There was always this plan and I understood at the time that I was a 22-year-old goalkeeper coming from League One down south.
“You can’t just expect to walk into a big club like this. It doesn’t work like that.
“You’ve got to earn it, play well in the big pressurised situations and prove yourself.
“You constantly have to do that as a young keeper. Our careers are probably longer and you’re not at your best until you’re in your late twenties or even your thirties.
“So, I’ve still got a lot to learn and I understand that.
“But I’m here to do that and hopefully get better as I go.”
Sinisalo revealed he had summer talks with O’Neill and his backroom staff over his future.
He admitted: “We did it in pre-season in Portugal. I wanted to speak to everyone at the club to try and see what they think I can do better.
“Ultimately, I want to be a goalie who wins games for this club.
“If I can listen to people who have seen goalies do that here, why would I not want to take that on board?
“So, I’ve spoken with them all and kind of set targets on what I want to do and what they want to see from me.
WE’RE BEHIND YOU…the Celtic fans show their support for Viljami Sinisalo during the Hoops’ 6-2 Scottish Cup semi-final extra-time victory over St Mirren last season.
“It’s that two-way relationship and it’s got to always be that.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’ve played five games or 500 games for the football club, I’m here to get better and try and help the club and help my team-mates to be even better.”
O’Neill added: “We need another goalkeeper, but Viljami was fantastic against LASK last week, with some big, big saves for us at 2-0. They were in the ascendency at that stage, too.
“We’ll be bringing in competition, but he can only thrive on that. That’s the whole point.
“When he came, he signed as a No 2. Kasper Schmeichel was the goalkeeper at that stage, but since his injury, Viljami has been super for us.
“If he gets a wee bit stronger and fills out a little bit more so he can take the buffeting, that could help.”
A shut-out in Linz tomorrow night would go a long way to enhancing the reputation of Sinisalo.
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