Viljami Sinisalo stunned by Martin O’Neill’s goalkeeping decision

Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo has admitted that Martin O’Neill’s recent decision to drop him for the Premier Sports Cup quarter final defeat at Ibrox left him stunned… 11th October 2026; Fir Park, Scottish Premiership, Motherwell versus Celtic; Viljami Sinisalo of Celtic. Photo Vagelis Georgariou Viljami Sinisalo has admiited he was left stunned after being dropped in favour of on-loan summer recruit Sam Johnstone for the recent Premier Sports Cup defeat at Ibrox. And the Celtic keeper has vowed to make sure he now keeps the gloves after returning to the team after Johnstone’s nervy showing in the 3-0 defeat to the latest Ibrox club. Speaking at the pre-match media conference in Lisbon, ahead of this evening’s Europa League clash with Benfica, the Finland international keeper said: “I’ll put it bluntly, yeah, it was a surprise but that’s ultimately a decision that’s been made. That’s gone now, you can’t really focus on it too much. 5th September 2026; Paisley, Scottish Premiership, St Mirren versus Celtic; Sam Johnstone of Celtic and Viljami Sinisalo of Celtic. Photo Vagelis Georgariou “It’s gone and now it’s down to me in terms of staying in the team. I want to be performing in a manner that there isn’t a conversation. I don’t want there to be a conversation, that’s the bottom line. “I don’t want that to happen again. It’s quite simple. “I’ve waited a long time and worked hard and played a lot of games now. Over the last, I want to say, 30 games, I think I played 28 or something like that. Once you get a bit of taste of that, you don’t want to let it go. 13th September 2026; Ibrox. Scottish League Cup Football, Rangers versus Celtic; Sam Johnstone of Celtic hugs Viljami Sinisalo of Celtic as he leaves the pitch. Photo Vagelis Georgariou “It’s what you want to do. It gives you that little fire in the belly and kind of say, this is my time now and I want that time to be now. “It’s funny because I was actually on trial as a 15-year-old when Sam was the number one at Aston Villa, on loan from Man United at the time. I trained with him when I was 15, before I even signed for Villa. “When I’m playing, he’s there supporting me like everyone else is. We’re so privileged in a way to be such a tight-knit group as goalies. It’s so important it stays that way. “If it’s me playing, he’s supporting me. If it’s him playing, I’ll be supporting him. It’s no different to that. We both want to play, Don’t get us wrong. When the other one plays, we understand that we need to support because it’s such a difficult position and little things matter. Viljami Sinisalo of Celtic celebrates after the Scottish Premiership match between St. Mirren and Celtic at St Mirren Park on September 05, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images) “We’re talking centimetres, whether a goal goes in or whether it doesn’t. Any help that you can get from your fellow goalies, the better. He’s been a top keeper in his own career, playing for England and top level in the Premier League as well. “He’s a good guy. Absolutely. He’s still a very good goalie. I’m talking of a goalie that only last season played in the Premier League. I want to stay in the team. It’s no different to that. That’s the main message.” Sinisalo is just desperate to give the travelling Celtic supporters a performance top be proud of this evening. He explained: “It would mean the world to us. Everyone understands what this place as a city means to the football club. Celtic vs LASK, 19.August.2026 – UEFA Champions League, play-off, Celtic Glasgow vs Linzer ASK. Image shows Viljami Sinisalo Celtic. Photo: GEP pictures/Manuel Binder IMAGO “If you could have one of those great European nights, why wouldn’t you want that? Everyone would love that. You’d want to send the fans home happy, but you want to send the fans home proud of what they’ve seen. “Whether you win, lose or draw, you want them to go home thinking that they’re very proud of their team, which is something I’m sure the fans want. I’m sure when you do that, most of the time the result is fine. “Benfica are a good side, but it’s a game that you can really enjoy and relish. In a way, you raise your levels. There’s no better place to do that. Sometimes games like this force you to do that if you want to get something out of it. 23.05.2026 Celtic v Dunfermline Athletic, Scottish Cup Final. Viljami Sinisalo with the Scottish Cup. Photo Kenny Ramsay “We’re looking forward to it and maybe we can have a little think on what we’ve done well in Stuttgart or Feyenoord. I think Bologna as well, where we obviously went a man down, but we’ve played some really good stuff and defended well as a team because we’re going to have to defend at times.” Watch Viljami Sinisalo’s media conference below… HAVE YOUR SAY – Join the Celtic conversation in our comments section below… Celtic in the Fifties by Matt Corr, in two volumes, both published on 4th September 2026 by Celtic Star Books. Click on image to order. Quick Tip – Add Celticshorts.com as your ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the Celtic content you value the most. It takes just a few seconds and you’ll notice the difference straight away! – Click HERE ….Hail Hail!