Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo has admitted that the club's Champions League exit to LASK was unacceptable, conceding that he would not listen to players' explanations if he were a supporter. The Hoops surrendered a four-goal aggregate lead in spectacular fashion, losing 5-1 on the night in Austria to crash out of Europe's premier competition.
Sinisalo was helpless as LASK bombarded the Celtic goal with 40 shots across 120 minutes. Just seven days earlier, he had kept a clean sheet as Celtic appeared to have one foot in the group stage. By the final whistle, he had picked the ball out of his net five times.
Goalkeeper's Raw Reaction
Shell-shocked Sinisalo said: “Obviously it's raw; I’m kind of speechless in a way. It's very hard for me to come here and explain that. I'll try though because I don't think the people coming here to support us deserved that.”
He added: "I can say whatever here, but it's no good saying it here. Obviously it's unacceptable and we're all very speechless about what's just happened. I don't think it was complacency. We scored the first goal and you're thinking, ‘four goal lead, that's it’. They get one at a crucial time for them, which kind of shifts the momentum."
No Excuses From Players
The Finn was brutally honest when asked if Celtic deserved to be out of the Champions League, admitting the reality of Europa League football had sunk in. He said: "That's probably my thought process. I've had a minute to myself and thought, is it that the case? I think I said after the game last Wednesday night that the big moments went for us. The shots that they were having, might be going over the bar or flashing across the six-yard box or stuff like that. Tuesday just felt like one of those nights where everything seemed to work for them."
Sinisalo acknowledged that Celtic lost their identity during the match, saying: "I think we lost a bit of the identity of the team that we want to be. We want to be a passing football team. Sometimes in the game you feel something and you make decisions to go longer. That's the game they want. They're big, they're strong. If we start going long, it's kind of playing into their hands a little bit."
Facing the Inquest
Celtic now face an inevitable inquest, with the feel-good factor from a promising start to the campaign replaced by fury and frustration. Sinisalo knows the players must face the music, adding: "No, you can experience losses but you can't experience anything like this. You can't write stuff like this. It's not easy but we'll come back stronger. We’ll regroup: we've got experienced pros in the changing room who have a lot of experience. They've been here a long time and know what's going to come at us. That's completely fair. People are entitled to say that. We've got to take it as a group and be better, ultimately."
He concluded: "There's no need for me to come and say anything else. It's not what people would want to hear. I'm not going to come here and give you excuses. We've just not been good enough and that's why we're a team now in the Europa League."
