Kasper Schmeichel warns Aston Villa Celtic aren't Champions League lost Bhoys after growing up
Kasper Schmeichel has warned Aston Villa grown up Celts are ready to play in the big boys’ playground.
The Hoops looked like lost Bhoys when they got battered by Borussia Dortmund but bounced back to go unbeaten in the Champions League to reach the knock-out stages with a game to spare. Brendan Rodgers’ men head to Villa Park on Wednesday with a long shot chance of even sneaking into the top eight and bypassing the last 24 play-off round.
Celtic have nothing to lose but Schmeichel insists the side has nothing to fear either. The great Dane is convinced the Parkhead men can compete with the likes of EPL big hitters Villa – and thrill punters in the process. Schmeichel said: “When you look at our squad, we’re a good team to watch. I think we’re enjoyable to watch. What I like about us is that we learn and we mature.
“We had the setback against Dortmund but what, for me, is the big marker of any team is how you come back from those setbacks. This team, this club, has this season shown that the few times that we have had setbacks, we’ve come back stronger.
“We can feel whatever we want to feel, whether that’s elation or despair. Then at midnight, we move on. We went to Atalanta straight after that and kept the highest-scoring team in Europe from scoring, which is a big achievement.
“Our game, particularly in Europe, has matured very nicely. The Leipzig result was a great performance. I think we’re a difficult team to beat. For the neutral, we’d probably be quite enjoyable to watch as well.”
Celtic reeled off two wins and three draws in Europe on the back of Borussia and also shrugged off the shock Premiership defeat against Rangers to increase their lead at the top of the league. Schmeichel hailed the resilience of the squad to recover from any setbacks and the same mental strength will be required in Birmingham this week.
He said: “Any game you go onto the pitch, you can lose. Dortmund caught us on our worst day and they had their best day. That can happen, but like you say, we’ve been unbeaten since and there’s a reason for that. That’s because we’re a good football team.
“I’ll take the example of we get beat by Rangers, that’s a sore one, but then how do we react? We go and we win the next two games.
“That’s the mark of a team, I think, that when you do hit those kinds of periods where it maybe isn’t as free-flowing or as fluid, then how do you bounce back from that? And we’ve been great at that this season.”
Schmeichel has been a rock at the back and showed his importance with a crucial double save to secure the win against Young Boys last week that sent Celts into the next round in Europe. The 38-year-old made it three clean sheets in seven Champions League games – and he’s also stockpiled 17 shutouts in 24 league games this term.
Schmeichel insists he couldn’t care less about personal records – as long as Celtic are producing the goods. He said: “I am in no way whatsoever a stats man! I know I came close to winning the Golden Gloves (clean sheet award) at Leicester (in 2016), but I lost it by one!
“Chelsea got a penalty in the last game of the season. To be honest, I’ve never been a stats person, particularly when it comes to goalkeeping.
“I don’t believe in stats. I think goalkeeping is a little bit different. I don’t think you can quantify a goalkeeper’s performances by stats.
“A lot of it is by feeling. Do you feel comfortable? Do you feel comfortable with the team? Does the team feel comfortable with you?
“These are things you can’t really quantify. The thing about clean sheets is they’re obviously great because they give you the platform to go and win the game.
“But they aren’t the be all and end all. I’d rather win every game and concede two than keep clean sheets.
“At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is winning, but it’s a great platform and it shows that the team is defending well.
“Defensively, we’ve been very, very solid all season. As for Xg and all that stuff, again, not for me. It’s something that wouldn’t even figure on my radar. I don’t really believe in it.”
