Kasper Schmeichel has delivered a powerful message to Celtic fans and teammates ahead of Saturday’s Scottish Cup final, urging everyone to savour success while maintaining the standards required to achieve it.
The experienced Danish goalkeeper has already tasted silverware success this season, playing his part in Celtic’s League Cup triumph and being part of a title-winning squad that has shown consistency and resilience throughout the campaign, now he’ll be looking to get his hands on the Scottish Cup at the weekend.
But Schmeichel, speaking from deep personal experience, stressed that success should never be seen as a given. He said on the official Celtic Podcast:
“They’re not never-ending, that’s the one thing we must never ever take these for granted because it’s not easy winning trophies or titles.
“Celtic have been able to do it because we have maintained an incredibly high standard of professionalism that’s rooted deeply in hard work and dedication.
“Without that, it’s not going to happen. So, one thing I always would preach to anybody, any football fan, is to never take for granted the opportunity and never take for granted how much hard work goes into getting those opportunities.
“I’ve been very lucky in my career to win trophies at different stages, with different teams, different clubs and these opportunities don’t just come along, you know, there’ll be periods you’ll see big clubs, you know, Liverpool went a long time without winning, Man United are in one now, you know, there’s big clubs that go through big periods of transition.
“So, you must never take these things for granted, we’ve got to enjoy them, we have to enjoy them because you never know what’s around the corner.
“But one thing I can for sure guarantee from my knowledge of the people in this building is that no one’s going to let up, no one’s going to let any standards drop or let focus go somewhere else.
“And I think that’s, again, that’s the role of a professional footballer is to know that you cannot take anything for granted, no one’s going to give you anything and every time you win, the target on your back gets bigger, it gets bigger and bigger and bigger and when you have that crest on your chest and that target on your back, you’ve got to be able to handle that pressure, you’ve got to be able to handle that and that is the role of a Celtic player and we’ve been able to deliver two for now and hopefully three and then we enjoy that and then we reset and we go again next year.”
With a domestic treble within reach, Schmeichel’s words carry added weight and is a reminder of the expectations and the responsibility that come with wearing the green and white.
The job isn’t done yet, but with leaders like Schmeichel in the dressing room, Celtic will go into Hampden with clear focus and steely determination.
Celtic are looking to win their sixth treble in nine years, with Brendan Rodgers looking to make it his third across two spells in Glasgow.
Celtic stormed past Aberdeen at Pittodrie last week, but they will be under no illusions as they get set for Hampden Park.
