Martin O’Neill has addressed Celtic’s goalkeeper situation, with Sam Johnstone vying to take over as first choice.
Viljami Sinisalo remains O’Neill’s number one and has started in all of Celtic’s fixtures so far this season. Johnstone was brought in near the end of the summer transfer window on a season-long loan and has made it clear he’s not here to sit on the bench.
He found himself out of favour at Wolves, with the opportunity to join Celtic impossible to turn down. Johnstone revealed he had conversations with Joe Hart that helped fuel his next career move, with the former Hoops shot-stopper raving about his time in Glasgow.
O’Neill has been impressed by his new goalkeeper in training, and insists the competition for a spot between the sticks can only be a good thing.
He said (Celtic Player):
“I think that’s very important.
“Why should goalkeepers not have that sort of competition as much as anything else? There’s outfield players who have it every time.
“And the only thing about it is that goalkeepers are so rigid in that sense that you find that somebody else is stepping in and playing a game. It’s a wee bit like about Sinisalo last season, coming in to take over from Kasper.
“And he did remarkably well, so much so that Kasper, when he got fit, couldn’t or looked as if he was getting fit, didn’t get back in again. And then he had, obviously, the problems with his shoulder. But Sinisalo was up for the challenge, so I think that goalkeepers should be challenged.”
O’Neill then spoke more about Johnstone, who recently stated he’s here intending to take over as Celtic’s first-choice goalkeeper:
“Yeah, that’s really pleasing. I wouldn’t want it any other way.
“He’s still young. It’s not as if, let’s say, he’s 40 years of age and just waiting for the last contract. He’s there.
“He wants to do well. It’s not that long ago that he was involved with the England squad. So, yeah, he’s determined.
“He’s looked really good in training. And at some stage or another, he will get into a game because it’ll be necessary for him. We’ve got some European games coming up, but the most important game is tomorrow evening for us.”
With the fixture schedule already piling up and two games a week becoming the norm once again, a Johnstone debut may not be far away.
Celtic brought in ten players during the summer window, giving O’Neill food for thought in a range of positions; the goalkeeper spot is clearly no different in his eyes.
It would come as a surprise should Johnstone be given the nod against St Johnstone on Wednesday night. Sinisalo remains number one and it’ll likely remain that way going into the League Cup quarter-final at Ibrox this Sunday.
But the boss welcomes the healthy competition and will hope that it can push the Finland international to improve. He is still 24, so having Johnstone around could prove highly beneficial in his development.
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