I had to fend off Celtic glove rivals by getting politicians on board and Kasper Schmeichel might have a similar scrap

Daily Record

5 hours ago

Hoops legend Packie Bonner spent almost 20 year as no.1 at Parkhead and knows what it takes to remain the main man
Packie Bonner had such a fierce scrap on his hands to keep hold of the Celtic no.1 shirt he called up MPs for hauners.
And the Hoops hero reckons Kasper Schmeichel might have a similar fight to stop Viljami Sinisalo snatching the jersey next season.
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Bonner knows what it's like to be the main man at Parkhead and have others determined to take your place.
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The Irish legend saw off plenty in nearly two decades at the club and the sight of Shay Given back in town last week brought back memories of a particularly tough time.
Bonner had Gordon Marshall and Stuart Kerr as competition in the mid-90s – but there was also Given coming up the ranks and future USA star Brad Friedel on the books.
Those two would depart the club and go on to make more than 1000 English Premier League appearances between them – and hoover up more than 200 international caps.
Bonner said: 'That's some list of goalkeepers. I was thinking, get rid of him, get rid of him, don't give him a chance!
'Brad couldn't get his work permit. I was talking to the politicians, saying don't give him one! You've got to fend them off!'
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Schmeichel is in the same boat now with Sinisalo pushing hard and Ross Doohan set to return to the club from Aberdeen.
The big Dane enjoyed a superb first season in Scotland but suffered a disappointing end with a blunder in the Scottish Cup Final.
Sinisalo impressed when he got the chance when Schmeichel was out injured and made no bones about the fact he wants to be the one handed the gloves as soon as possible.
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Bonner said: 'I loved that. I remember when my first contract was up and I went in to see big Billy. He was doing his hair in front of the mirror and I asked what was happening.
'He said, 'Oh, we've just taken up the option on your contract.'
'I didn't even know I signed that! I just said I wanted to be in the team, and he just kept doing his hair, and he didn't even look at me.
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'But that resonates with the manager. I want to be the No.1. There are lots of people who want to be number two or three now because they're getting 15 grand a week, and they don't have to do anything.
'But if you want to be no.1 that's the profile you want. Who will be no.1? That's a good question. I thought Sinisalo did really well.
'We didn't know much about him. Every time I watched him in the warm-ups, he looked okay – but that's the warm-ups!
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'Listen, I think he's got the profile. When you play with Celtic, or Rangers for that matter, you can do all the right things and it looks great and so on, but you have to make the big saves under pressure.
'It's sometimes not the repeated saves, it's the one when you have to pull it out when you're not maybe getting a lot to do. That's what keeps you in tournaments. That's what wins you games.
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'With Sinisalo, we are wondering whether he can come up with that. That's what the likes of Joe Hart and Schmeichel have shown.
"Forget the cup final, that was a one-off. It'll happen to everybody.
'But they have come up with the big saves at the right time. Andy Gorham did it for years, Jim Leighton did it for years. Peter Latchford did it for years. We make mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes.'
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Bonner suspects Schmeichel will still get the nod but he's convinced the Denmark legend won't make a fuss if he is eventually usurped.
He said: 'Kasper doesn't have to worry. He won't worry. At the end of the day, he'll either play or not. Even if he doesn't play, he's going to be very happy to be here.
'I was talking to his dad, had a good chat with his dad on the plane going out and coming back, and he was talking about how Kasper's really enjoying his time here at Celtic, and it's a breath of fresh air for him.
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'He's won things, and he's in a team that's in Europe. It's a fantastic place to come for a goalkeeper of that nature.
'He's 38 years old, he knows he's in his last couple of years, and if he isn't no.1, he's going to be their support, and he's not going to throw the toys out of the pram. But it's important that Sinisalo wants that position.
'Goalkeepers are very different. We work together, we room together, even though we were fighting for the position.
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'But you were never hostile to the person. You were good friends, and you got on, but you were challenging each other.
'That's different, maybe, than outfield players. It was the same with myself and Peter Latchford. He had a grasp of it. Yeah. And listen, Peter was great for me.
'Gerry Peyton was great for me with the Irish team. Maybe they knew they weren't going to get in!'
Pat Bonner was launching the Refugee World Cup Scotland 2025 tournament at Toryglen Regional Football Centre on June 29. The event celebrated the diversity of communities in Scotland through football while standing up for the rights of refugees.