Sinisalo to start at Pittodrie. Schmeichel doesn’t travel to Aberdeen | OneFootball

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has confirmed that Kasper Schmeichel will NOT travel with the Celtic squad to Aberdeen today as a mystery illness continues to sideline the Great Dane…

Kasper Schmeichel of Celtic looks dejected during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Knockout Play-off First Leg match between Celtic FC and VfB Stuttgart at Celtic Park on February 19, 2026. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images)

Martin O’Neill spoke to the mainstream media this afternoon – as the club’s disgraceful collective ban on Celtic fan media continues. It’s going to be a long way back re-building that particular relationship if and when there’s significant change at Celtic Park.

Martin O’Neill at Ibrox. theRangers v Celtic. 1st March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

The interim Celtic manager confirmed that Kasper Schmeichel remains sidelined with a mystery illness and will not travel with the squad this afternoon to Aberdeen for tomorrow evening’s vital re-arranged fixture at Pittodrie in the Scottish Premiership.

Here’s everything that was said by Martin O’Neill in his pre-match mainstream media conference ahead of the Aberdeen v Celtic match tomorrow evening…

Martin O’Neill, Media Conference at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 2 Celtic 3. Scottish Premiership. Sunday 15 February 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: We’ll just start with injuries from Sunday, looking ahead to tomorrow’s game, everyone available?

Martin O’Neill: “No, we’ve got a couple of niggles, but we’ll see how they are by the end of the afternoon. We’ll travel up today for the game, and Kasper Schmeichel is still not feeling great, so I’ll leave him to recover properly.

Q: So Kasper, not available for tomorrow?

Martin O’Neill: “He won’t be available for tomorrow.”

Q: How’s the atmosphere been amongst the boys since Sunday’s comeback?

Martin O’Neill: “Well, the players had a day off yesterday. I think they were in need of some recuperation anyway. This will be a tough match for us. Obviously, they’re very pleased, as we all are, that they fight back. They did brilliantly in the second half, and as I said, not too many teams come from a 2-0 deficit at Ibrox to get something out of the game, which we did.”

Martin O’Neill applauds the Celtic support. theRangers v Celtic. 1st March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: Do you feel you can take momentum from that second half into not just this game, but the rest of the season?

Martin O’Neill: “I don’t know about the rest of the season, that can soon wear off, but certainly this is a big game for us tomorrow evening, a big match for us. We’ve got to try and win the game if we can.”

Q: I know you’ve said many times you’ve got the catching up to do, you’ve got to be almost near-perfect for the remainder of the league campaign. That’s the message to the team?

Martin O’Neill: “Yes, that’s the message, but the players know that themselves. We’ve left ourselves in this position, through one thing or another, and we’ve got to try and see it through. I think the total focus is on the game.”

Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel & Celtic interim assistant coach Mark Fotheringham walk on to the training pitch Celtic Team Training, Scottish Premiership, Lennoxtown Training Ground, 31 October 2025. Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

Q: Have you spoken to the team about the slow starts? Is that something you’ve addressed yourself and Shaun and Mark?

Martin O’Neill:  “Obviously, the trip to Ibrox was going to be difficult in itself, but we certainly can’t spend 45 minutes on the back foot and not really competing properly. That’s against any side, never mind (the)Rangers. So from our viewpoint, yes, I think we’ve got to try and get a grip of the game earlier than we’re doing.”

Q: Will Kasper be back again for the weekend, do you think?

Martin O’Neill:  “In terms of illness, I’m hoping that I’ve got the medical side to keep me right, and I’m hoping that he will be available for that time.”

Viljami Sinisalo of Celtic FC looks on during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between VfB Stuttgart and Celtic FC at Stuttgart Arena on February 26, 2026 in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)

Q: How pleased were you with Viljami Sinisalo’s performance?

Martin O’Neill: “He’s done really well in the two games that he’s come in. He came in, in the match in the European game against Stuttgart, made a couple of really good saves and did very well. So he will start tomorrow night in the game, but I’ve been pleased with him. I thought he did fine at (the)Rangers, really fine. The goals that he conceded are certainly not his fault, so I’ve been very pleased with him. It’s an opportunity, not that it’s worked out that way, or it’s not the way that you’d want it to be. It’s an opportunity to see him because I think he wants to be the number one goalkeeper here in the foreseeable future.”

Derek McInnes, Manager of Hearts during the Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Celtic at Tynecastle on January 25, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images)

Q: How much would you see a win tomorrow night as being a psychological boost, not only moving up the table into second place, but ahead of the cup game at the weekend?

Martin O’Neill: “I think I said on Sunday, obviously, if you’re looking at the table, the winners on Sunday didn’t even play, it was Hearts. If I had been involved with Hearts, that’s the result that you’d have been looking for. It’s getting really, really tight, but the games are running down, so again, no room for error from our viewpoint, from the position that we found ourselves in. Psychologically, I don’t know, I can only treat the game just on its merit and go for it and try and win. It won’t be easy for us in Aberdeen, I’ve never had an easy game at Pittodrie in all my time managing. I expect exactly the same, and the players are expecting that as well.”

Reo Hatate scores at Ibrox. theRangers 2 Celtic 2. Sunday 1st March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: The impact that Reo Hatate had off the bench on Sunday, but how do you make sure that you get the best out of him between now and the run in? How crucial could that be, having the best of Reo in there?

Martin O’Neill:  “Well, Reo has to get the best out of himself, you know. That’s the most important thing. If you had been asking that question to any of my managers about me as a player, they would have stared right through you and said it’s up to him as the player. This is it, Reo’s been a really fine footballer here, and it’s been a tough old season for him, it’s been a tough old season for the football club. If he could maintain that form, then he can be an asset to us.”

Reo Hatate of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Scottish Premiership match between theRangers and Celtic at Ibrox on March 01, 2026 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Are you confident that he can, that he can bring that level every week?

Martin O’Neill: “Well, it would be easy for me to sit here and say that would be fantastic, that would really be up to the player as much as anything. In terms of encouragement here, which is something that we’ve been giving, absolutely. It’s all the encouragement in the world from us, so it wouldn’t be in that score that he would fail.”

Pitch unplayable at Pittodrie. Aberdeen Celtic match postponed. Photo Sky Sports

Q: You mentioned never getting an easy game at Pittodrie; obviously, Aberdeen’s form hasn’t made for good breathing recently. What do you see as the biggest challenge for your side to overcome to get the three points?

Martin O’Neill: “The game itself presents the challenge, I think that Aberdeen will get themselves up for the game, quite rightly so. They’ve got points to prove themselves. It would be easy, regardless of what position the two clubs find themselves in, it would be a difficult match. I just know that. Hopefully, since the last time, since the game was off, perhaps the pitch might have improved a little bit. That I don’t know.”

Kieran Tierney and Viljami Sinisalo of Celtic applaud the fans following their team’s draw in the Scottish Premiership match between theRangers and Celtic at Ibrox on March 01, 2026. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images)

Q: You said that Sinisalo sees himself as being the number one here. How big an opportunity has this been for him?

Martin O’Neill:  “Absolutely, it is an opportunity. I’m not saying he sees himself as that, that’s what he wants to be. He’s come in, and I think he’s done very, very well in the games. At this minute, he’s taken over from a goalkeeper who’s been a really, really terrific goalkeeper throughout his career and one who also still wants to do very, very well not only for the club, but for himself. And I would have assumed at national level, because Denmark still have a chance of qualifying for the World Cup.”

Watch Martin O’Neill’s Mainstream Media Conference ahead of Celtic’s match against Aberdeen at Pittodrie below…

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order

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