VILJAMI SINISALO’S hopes of winning a Premier Sports League Cup medal this season were scuppered in the fall-out of Celtic’s managerial mayhem.
The Finnish international No.1, playing understudy to Kasper Schmeichel since his £1million arrival from Aston Villa in July 2024, had an understanding he was the team’s designated Cup keeper.
Sinisalo played in the 4-0 win over Partick Thistle at the kick off to the tournament in September and kept his place in the 4-1 triumph over Falkirk the following month.
However, all bets were off after Brendan Rodgers’ sudden departure in late October and, with Martin O’Neill in interim charge, Schmeichel took the gloves for the 3-1 semi-final success over Ibrox opposition in November.
ON GUARD…Viljami Sinisalo keeps his eye on the ball.
Wilfried Nancy was in the dug-out by the time Celtic returned to Hampden for the Final against St Mirren in mid-December.
The Danish legend was again given the nod to play and he couldn’t prevent a haphazard Hoops side from collapsing to a dismal 3-1 loss.
Three weeks later, Nancy’s disastrous 33-day reign – with six losses in eight games – came to a merciful premature end.
The clubs lock horns for a second time at the national stadium in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday afternoon, O’Neill is back in charge until the conclusion of a fairly chaotic campaign and Sinisalo will be his last line of defence.
The 24-year-old netminder has stepped into the breach with Schmeichel suffering persistent problems with his right shoulder which he injured while on international duty against Portugal in Lisbon over a year ago.
Looking at the turnaround in his fortunes, Sinisalo said: “It’s such a weird business, you don’t know what’s happening in a week’s time.
HAPPY DAZE…Viljami Sinisalo celebrates Celtic’s fourth successive title after the 5-0 win over Dundee United at Tannadice in April last year.
“There are injuries, there are selection decisions, there are things which happen which you can’t control.
“There was definitely a plan of me playing more than I did last season, which started alright in the League Cup.
“Obviously, though, plans change when people change, which is completely understandable. We’ve had different managers at different times.
“As a young keeper, you’re maybe a little bit unfortunate at that time, but I’ve just tried to keep my head down and I’ve always known the opportunity would come eventually.
“I’ve just tried to work as hard as I can to be ready for that opportunity because you only get one career and one shot at it. So there’s no point wasting a day, which I haven’t done and will never do.
“I pretty much understand that it’s always about the next game. I want to just keep improving and trying to showcase to people who I am as a goalie.”
Sinisalo has been learning from the best on his soccer journey and worked with two World Cup-winning custodians in his six years at the Midlands club – Argentina’s Emi Martinez and Spain’s Pepe Reina.
The athletic shotstopper, speaking to the Daily Mail, continued: “I’ve been really lucky with the goalies I worked with. Martinez is one of the better keepers in the world for me.
SPOT ON…Viljami Sinisalo, Tomas Cvancara and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain enjoy the penalty-kick shoot-out success at Ibrox to set up the Scottish Cup semi-final meeting against St Mirren at Hampden on Sunday.
“You learn a lot about the sheer presence that the man has and the aura that he carries around him. He’s a very confident man, which is something that you definitely need.
“I also worked with Pepe Reina and Tom Heaton at Villa and you try to take bits from everyone and mould yourself into a goalie that you want to be.
“Coming to Celtic and working with Kasper, I’ve also been really lucky.”
Sinisalo added: “I enjoy coming in to training at Celtic every day and trying to be a better goalie. Every day I walk out of this building trying to be better than I was when I came in.
“Every footballer wants to be involved in games with big pressure and we’ve got many of them coming up now.
“I enjoy that pressure, it’s a privilege. Why overthink it? It’s what I love doing and I’m trying to showcase what I am as a person and as a footballer while enjoying it at the same time.”
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