Reaching final can put 'positive spin' on season
Frankie Kent insists Hearts are determined to rebound from their top-six miss by reaching the Scottish Cup final to put a "positive spin" on their season.Neil Critchley's men, having been consigned to the bottom half after last weekend's draw at Motherwell, face Aberdeen at Hampden in the Scottish Cup semis on Saturday.Kent says a win would ease some of the pain the supporters have endured in a disappointing league campaign."I wouldn't say it salvages it because we're expecting a lot from ourselves as a club and as individuals especially," he said."But it definitely puts a positive spin on it, in terms of something to look forward to, something for the fans to shout about and get excited about to hopefully get through to a final."Football moves quickly so you can't dwell on it too much. But everyone was gutted with how it went and how it turned out."But we've got a big game to look forward to and everyone's been up for that. And training has been really good this week. I feel like the boys have got a point to prove in terms of wanting to get the result and get through."The 29-year-old defender returned to the squad last weekend after four months out with a quad injury and hopes to feature at Hampden."I'm experienced enough to be able to deal with these sorts of games," he added."And if I was put back in, then yes, I definitely feel like I'm ready. There are times to show bottle on a stage like this."I think we've shown, especially in my time here, that we can beat anyone."It's going to be a tough game on Saturday. There's no getting away from that. But I feel like we're in a good place in terms of now addressing what's happened."
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Scotsman
7 hours ago
- Scotsman
Celtic fall guy can bounce back from sore end to season with help from Parkhead 'unsung hero'
Goalkeeper backed to recover from cup final blunder Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Kasper Schmeichel has been tipped to bounce back from a sore end to his first season at Celtic and reinforce to everyone why he is a "top" goalkeeper. Schmeichel was badly at fault for Aberdeen's equaliser in last month's Scottish Cup final, palming a Shayden Morris cross into his own net in the last ten minutes of the Hampden showdown. The Dons went on to lift the trophy on penalties following the 1-1 draw and deny Celtic a treble. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Schmeichel joined Celtic from Anderlecht last summer and largely impressed under manager Brendan Rodgers, who he worked with before at Leicester City. The 38-year-old has another year left on his contract and will battle it out with Viljami Sinisalo for the gloves, the Finn having impressed during a five-week spell when Schmeichel was sidelined by a shoulder issue. And former English Premier League goalkeeper Shay Given, who worked with Schmeichel during their time together at Manchester City, believes the stopper has all the mental strength to come back stronger next season. Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel comes down the Hampden steps after collecting his Scottish Cup runners up medal. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group) | SNS Group "I think that's one of the reasons he was signed, probably because of the mentality as much as anything," said Given, who started his professional career at Celtic before playing for Blackburn and Newcastle United. "He'll be disappointed with the final and the goal because it's a mistake, there's no point trying to dress it up any other way. He knows himself he probably should have done better with it. It's a disappointing end to a brilliant season, because he's still won the double. I suppose the icing on the cake would have been to get their hands on the treble but it wasn't to be. "The journey his whole career has been on, he's had knock-backs as a kid and had to go right down to Notts County and play. He built his way back up and won the Premier League with Leicester. There's so much more positives than negatives. When you're a goalkeeper, you are either brilliant or rubbish - that's probably the mentality of some people. We've all been there before. You have to have a strong mentality and mindset to bounce back from that. Brendan Rodgers knows him inside out and knows how to get the best out of him, get him back to peak fitness after a break in the summer, which he deserves. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "Sometimes it's a mental break as much as anything that the players need. I'm sure Kasper will go away and switch off mentally as much as anything and come back refreshed. He'll have that desire to play and prove that he's a top keeper. Even at his age, I don't think that will leave him." Celtic goalkeepers Kasper Schmeichel (L) and Viljami Sinisalo with the William Hill Premiership trophy. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group) | SNS Group Healthy competition Given believes that Schmeichel will be spurred on further by the emergence of Sinisalo, who proved during his stint with the gloves that he is not overawed by playing for Celtic. "I don't care what age you are, I think it pushes you all the time," Given continued. "You always need that competition. I had Steve Harper at Newcastle, Shaka Hislop and Pavel Srinicek. You were always getting pushed by someone and I think that's really important because it keeps you on your toes, keeps you training every day and at your best. "I remember Packie Bonner saying to me when I made my debut with Ireland, 'it's okay getting there, staying there is the problem, there's always someone wanting to take your jersey'. And that was when I was 19! That doesn't change whatever age you are. Competition is healthy and that's something you should thrive on, not worry about. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad "What I would say about their mindsets to come to Celtic, it's such a big club and the expectation levels are really high on the goalkeeper. Especially with the Old Firm, I think the mindset of the goalkeeper has to be really strong because you know going over there is going to be spicy with the fans, and even here if you make a mistake, the crowd will probably let you know. It's a position that's high-profile and it's a position where you need to have rhino skin and a strong mentality.' Help from unsung hero Schmeichel will get guidance from an exceptionally experienced Celtic coach in Stevie Woods, who has been at the club for many years and knows how to deal with the highs and lows of being in the Dane's position. "He'll have seen it all, Woodsy," said Given. "He'll do brilliant sessions but sometimes it's the wee talks as a goalkeeping coach. If you do make a mistake, how do you bounce back? Just going for a walk with a coach like Woodsy and having a chat about things is as good as diving about and making loads of saves. "It's such a specialised position. I think someone of that calibre overseeing the whole goalkeeping department is great for the club as well. I'm sure him and Kasper will have a chat, even in the close season, so he bounces back for pre-season. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scottish Sun
10 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Callum McGregor took fan fireworks fears direct to Celtic chiefs after Rangers clash
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IAN MAXWELL thinks that footballers in Scotland can help the football association in cracking down on fan behaviour issues. This comes as the chief joined the BBC Sportsound team on Saturday afternoon to address Scottish footballing issues. 2 Celtic fan with homemade rocket launcher at the 2022/23 Viaplay cup final 2 Ian Maxwell revealed that Callum McGregor, pictured here with Celtic chief Michael Nicholson, had spoken direct to the Celtic board over the matter Credit: SNS On the show, Maxwell said: "Rangers played Celtic at Hampden [in 2023] and there was a lot of fireworks. 'There was a video online and a guy had a rocket. They are finding ingenious ways to get these things into grounds. 'I spoke to the Celtic board after it and one of them said Callum McGregor had gone to them and said that was the first time the players had actually talked about something coming onto the pitch. 'At that point you go; 'I think we need to use the players'. 'The players are a fundamental part of trying to impact on that behaviour because with the best will in the world myself or Neil Doncaster or someone else saying 'go and not do that' just makes people want to do it. 'But if players are going to supporters and saying 'you are affecting our performance, you are getting in our heads, I'm worried when I'm taking a corner' then that is a positive message. 'The more we can use that player platform to spread that message and make people aware of the danger then the better. 'It's a player's place of work and it's not right they are taking a corner and there's all sorts raining down beside them.' There has been multiple fan incident's across the season. Most include pyrotechnic use, but we also saw Aberdeen defender Jack MacKenzie struck in the head by a chair from his own fans on the last day of the season. Shock moment Aberdeen star hit with seat thrown from own fans after rivals' pitch invasion Ticket reductions, and the threat of such action, is the route the governing body is taking to try and clamp down on these fan issues. Maxwell added: 'The ticket reduction is the next step. It's a fundamental step. 'We will see how that goes. Hopefully that has the impact. "If it doesn't and we need to look at something else, we will see what the options are at that point.' Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Record
13 hours ago
- Daily Record
Callum McGregor took fears over yobs directly to Celtic board as SFA chief makes weighty plea to players
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