Celtic let themselves down at the weekend, losing 2-1 at home against Hibernian. This was not only a terrible result for Martin O'Neill's side in the title race, but also the Hoops' second defeat at Parkhead within the space of a few days, having suffered a 4-1 loss at the hands of VfB Stuttgart in the Europa League last week.

O'Neill has done a great job of squeezing results out of this team. But at the weekend, they had a taste of their own medicine, conceding a late goal to lose against Hibernian.

Once again, Celtic had a man sent off, with Auston Trusty picking up another red card. The American international has received a ton of praise this season, but his disciplinary issues cannot be simply overlooked.

On the other hand, the Hoops did have a penalty shout overlooked, although most seem to be of the belief that it should have been given.

Some of O'Neill's decisions on the day came under the microscope as well. One of them was starting with Kasper Schmeichel in goal.

According to the Daily Record, O'Neill said: “Kasper has been a really fine goalkeeper. He’s been a member of a side that won the Premier League and everything else.

“You can’t rest on laurels for the rest of your life, everybody movces on, but it wasn’t a big, big decision for me.

“I sat here on Thursday and said he’s made big saves for us and he made a save when we were 1-0 down. So he’s come out and he did fine.

“I think the competition for places should apply to everyone, goalkeepers and outfield players, but I thought he showed some character.”

Schmeichel has endured a very difficult campaign. He was already well past his prime by the time Celtic signed him in the summer of 2024. But his performance levels have nosedived in recent times.

He was one of the most heavily criticised players coming out of the VfB Stuttgart defeat. And unfortunately, that has happened numerous times this season so far.

Despite that, every Celtic manager has decided to stick with Schmeichel. Is it because of his experience? Or the lack of a quality cover option who can be brought in immediately into the starting XI?

Many had felt that Viljami Sinisalo was ready to start for Celtic. But they sounded a lot more unsure after the Finnish international's last few outings.

The fact of the matter is that Celtic have an issue between the posts. Schmeichel is not quite clearly good enough to be starting based on form. And at 39 years of age, he might never reach those levels again.

The issue is, Celtic might not have a better option available. And even if they do, O'Neill seems reluctant to drop Schmeichel for Sinisalo.

As a result, it feels like the goalkeeping situation will continue as is until the end of the season. And then, hopefully, the club will try to sign a long-term number one in the summer. Of course, that won't be of any help in the ongoing title race.

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