Kasper Schmeichel did no one, himself included, any favours in choosing to use a US-based TV station his dad works for to announce that his career looks like it’s over because of a shoulder injury.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill, of course, looks faintly daft after stating days earlier that he felt the 39-year-old keeper was on the way back to fitness. Schmeichel has turned the torchlight on the club’s medical and physiotherapy department as well.
Didn’t they have any kind of handle on how bad things really were? Why was Schmeichel continuing to play when he was clearly only hanging together by pain-killing injections and Sellotape?
O’Neill admitting on Friday that he was surprised by the Dane’s admission and only heard about the severity of his problems ‘second-hand’ is crazy. He’s the manager of the club, for crying out loud.
Surely he has to be first in line for any information regarding his club’s established No 1 accepting his career is more or less over out of the blue — and receive it face-to-face, for that matter.
Whatever the ins and outs of what’s going on with this behind-the-scenes, it just adds to the general feeling that Celtic, as a club, are all over the shop.
A grinning Kasper Schmeichel with father Peter as he revealed his career may be over on TV
Lord knows who is pulling together their summer recruitment plans with former head of football operations Paul Tisdale having been binned and not replaced.
With fans already at loggerheads with the board, albeit appearing to have agreed to a truce while the title is on the line, Schmeichelgate also highlights what a mess the general messaging around the place has been and continues to be.
Schmeichel’s absence, it has to be said, is no great loss. Viljami Sinisalo should have been given his opportunity a lot earlier than now.
It won’t have any material effect on their attempts to successfully defend the Premiership title despite everything.
Amid the confusion over Schmeichel and his bombshell telly appearance, though, one thing is crystal clear.
Even if Celtic do manage to retain their crown in the weeks and months ahead, it can’t be allowed to paper over the cracks at a club needing significant changes in all manner of departments.
