Opinions can change very quickly in Glasgow. That is just the reality of it, whether you like it or not. And one player learned that this weekend as Celtic travelled away to take on Livingston in an important Premiership game. With Hearts losing 3-2 against Hibernian earlier in the day, it was a big opportunity for Wilfried Nancy’s side to close down the gap.
A lot of eyes were on Nancy’s starting XI on the day. One decision that was largely praised by the supporters was the one to start Viljami Sinisalo ahead of Kasper Schmeichel. In fact, the veteran goalie was not even on the bench leading to some questions around his fitness.
For months, fans had been calling for Sinisalo to be handed the starting gloves ahead of an underperforming Schmeichel. But it did not take long for the fans to change their opinion on the former Aston Villa man.
Celtic conceded twice against Livingston within the first 10 minutes. And a lot of fans were clearly not impressed with what they were seeing from Sinisalo in goal.
‘Woeful’ – Celtic player slammed as fans make U-turn
It looks like a lot of fans might have written Sinisalo off already. One wrote: “Sinisalo is woeful.”
Another said: “Sinisalo fills me with zero confidence in goal!!!!”
A third went on to add about the inexperienced Celtic goalie: “Kasper has been off form for a while, but Sinisalo is not the answer. Can’t understand why keepers don’t catch the ball anymore, Sinisalo makes the basics look awkward.”
Well, that must be a tough lesson for Sinisalo. After the fans had called for his selection for weeks, it did not take long for a lot of them to change their minds after seeing him in action against Livingston.
That is the pressure that a player needs to learn to cope with if he or she wants to be successful at a club like Celtic though. Let’s hope that this is not the last, or best, of Sinisalo that we see.