Celtic supporters have already enjoyed their first glimpse of Kasper Schmeichel in action, with the goalkeeper having played in two of the Hoops’ pre-season matches in the United States – against Manchester City and Chelsea. And they will have been impressed with what they’ve seen from the Danish internationalist, who produced a string of superb saves in both matches. Now they’ll be looking forward to cheering on the 37-year-old when Brendan Rodgers’ side kick off the defence of their Premiership title this Sunday against Kilmarnock. And for the player himself, he can’t wait to get his first experience of playing at Paradise as a Celt. Ahead of the weekend’s Flag Day match, Schmeichel was at Celtic Park to chat about the game, along with posing for the customary pictures that any new arrival to the club experiences. “I’ve settled in very nicely and the players have made it very easy for me,” he explained. “It’s a good group of people so it’s been nice. ‘I always look back on my career now and the times where I was probably at my best and my happiest as a footballer was under Brendan at Leicester.’ “It was certainly the time that I enjoyed football the most, so I always had a lot of positive memories, and the chance to work with him again is a big thing. I’m very grateful to him for giving me this opportunity so it’s been good all-round. “This is a massive club with worldwide recognition and obviously being part of a winning culture was a big thing for me, coming to a place where you’re expected to win every single game. That was definitely something which really appealed to me.”Celtic’s new No.1 is picking up the gloves left by his friend and former Manchester City team-mate, Joe Hart, who enjoyed three very successful years at the club before calling time on his playing career last season. The two men speak often – they talked before and after Kasper Schmeichel joined Celtic – and the Danish stopper was full of praise for the Celtic supporters and the way they responded to Joe Hart throughout his time at the club. “Having followed Joe and known him, and known the difficulties he went through in his career,” he said, “to come to a club this size and get, from what I felt, the respect and adulation he deserves, I was quite thankful to the Celtic fans for that because I thought, for the career he had, he deserved that kind of send-off. ‘I watched the last game of the season when they lifted the trophy and I watched the cup final as well, and that was great to see. So I was very impressed with how good a send-off he got.’ The Danish keeper, who captained his country in all four of their games in the recent European Championship, has signed a one-year deal with Celtic. He is relishing the challenges of the season ahead and he is looking no further ahead than that. “I’m not the type of guy who sets those type of limitations or expectations,” he said. “I’m here to do a job and play the best that I can and any opportunity I get to do that, that’s my focus. “I’m not going to be the guy who sits here and says, I’m going to do this or I’m going to do that. “For me, the best goalkeepers are the ones you don’t notice that much, they’re the ones who’re there consistently and do their job, and that’s what I’m here to do. “I’m here to help this club keep winning, keep being the successful and big club that they are, so I’m not really looking beyond that.”
Trending Now
