Brendan Rodgers has heaped praise on Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo after the 23-year-old delivered a composed and confident performance in the 3-0 win over Hearts at Celtic Park.

With Kasper Schmeichel sidelined due to a shoulder injury sustained on international duty, all eyes were on Sinisalo as he made his Scottish Premiership debut for the club. And the Finland international didn’t disappoint.

Sinisalo, who joined from Aston Villa last summer, has had a season of development behind the scenes, learning under the experienced Schmeichel and it looked like it paid off. He was so composed on the ball, wasn’t afraid to shout out instructions and had one really good, quick reaction save.

Brendan Rodgers was pleased with what he saw, saying: [Celtic TV]

“I thought he was excellent. I really like his authority. We’ve seen him as a young keeper that could come in, have a season investing in being an understudy, from learning from a top keeper and the mentality of a very top keeper, knowing that he wasn’t going to play so much.

“I’ve seen him grow from pre-season, where he was good in the games. He played a game here before, didn’t have a lot to do, but he was assured.

“And you see him today, comes in, it’s a big game, Celtic vs Hearts. Makes the save, but important, he can take the ball and knows the lines of pass. I thought he was excellent.

“So really pleased for him and a clean sheet.”

With Schmeichel facing an uncertain timeline for recovery, Sinisalo may be set for a run of games in the Celtic goal, and based on this display, he looks more than ready, and he deserves it, too.

He was brought to Celtic to take over the gloved from Kasper when he eventually retires, but having this run of games will do the world of winders for the Finnish international.

He’s now got to continue performing until Schmeichel gets back fit, and he could possibly give the manager something to think about.