'I love being part of a club where the culture is so driven by winning,' Kasper Schmeichel

The Danish shot-stopper is heading into the last year of his deal at the Hoops. Although Schmeichel battled injuries towards the end of last season, he featured in Celtic’s latest friendly against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday evening.

Post-match the 38-year-old dismissed any notion that he has no further ambitions in his career. Speaking via Scottish Sun, he said:

“That’s not my mindset – I haven’t done everything. There’s a lot still to accomplish. In all honesty, I never think differently to that. I’ve never been the type of guy to think in restrictions or limitations. At the moment, I’m just loving playing football. I’m living what I always dreamed of doing since I was a kid. If I can’t enjoy this, then what can I enjoy?”

Schmeichel added: “It’s wrong to say I feel privileged to do this job because I sacrificed a lot to get here. But a lot of people in the world would do anything to be in the position that I’m in. It would be a waste for me not to enjoy it. When you get to a certain part of your career, you know that you haven’t got forever, so you enjoy it even more.

“I cherish every single day that I get to go on the pitch, and jump on the grass and catch balls and dive around like a lunatic. It’s a good life! I also love being part of a club where the culture is so driven by winning all the time.”

“That really motivates me every single day to get up to it, to make sure we uphold those standards and strive for more. As long as I’m enjoying that and as long as that hunger or desire is there, then I’ll keep on playing.”

“But I’m not the type of person to say that I’m going to do this or going to do that. I take everything as it comes. At this stage of my career, nothing’s ever guaranteed. It never is at any point, but one injury can end your career at this stage. “So it’s all about being here, contributing, enjoying every single minute. The only way I do that is by being part of a winning team.”

Schmeichel and his Celtic teammates are in action today for their fifth pre-season clash, taking on Newcastle United in Glasgow’s east end. The Scottish champions face a stern test before heading to Italy next week for the first-ever edition of the ‘Como Cup.’

Here’s a reminder of Sandman’s take on Kasper’s first season at Celtic in his brilliant graphically enhanced and slightly mad review of the season, it’s well worth a read if you missed it.

Conor Spence

Here’s Kieran Tierney speaking to The Celtic Star and a few other Celtic fan media sites…

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter…

Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered the late David Potter’s last ever Celtic book, Celtic in the Eighties, which will be published on the fifth day of September by Celtic Star Books. The link to pre-order your copy is below…