McInally Wants Schmeichel At Celtic And Says O'Riley Exit Would Not Be Disaster

Alan McInally has thrown his weight behind Celtic’s proposed move for Kasper Schmeichel in an exclusive chat with Gambling.com.

Joe Hart hung up his gloves at the end of last season, leaving the Hoops looking for a new No. 1.

Hart’s experience between the posts was invaluable during his time at Parkhead and another veteran shot-stopper has been linked as his replacement.

Schmeichel Still A Top Keeper

Schmeichel is currently under contract at Anderlecht but is said to be considering his options.

And McInally, who spent three years at Celtic as a player, believes the 37-year-old Dane would be a useful asset for his former club.

“I’ll give you a bit of a scoop here. I texted his dad Peter and I’ve no answer yet, so I’ll get back to you on that one! But I was hoping to find out pretty quickly, so I could get myself a little bit of insider information,” he said.

“He’s a little bit older now, but he’s hugely experienced and he’s still a really good goalkeeper. So I wouldn't be too perturbed, at all, if Celtic managed to land him.

"I think he’s a super goalkeeper, he really is. Every time I look at him, because obviously Peter and I go back a long way and I’ve known him for a long time, I just see Pete in him.”

* To be in with a chance of winning a fabulous trip to Las Vegas, along with £2,000 spending money, enter our competition below. T&Cs apply.

Hoops Would Survive O'Riley Exit

Elsewhere, Celtic face the prospect of losing Matt O’Riley, who scored 19 goals from midfield last season.

Atalanta have had a bid rejected for the London-born Denmark international, who is also attracting interest from the Premier League.

But despite O'Riley’s contributions last season, McInally believes Celtic could cope without him.

“It wouldn’t be a disaster,” he added. "Anytime a player leaves a football club that has played such a main part, then people will be disappointed. Everything moves on. Players leave, somebody else comes in, and the whole thing continues. It just depends maybe on what the player wants to do.

“Would he (O’Riley) be good enough in the Premier League? Yeah I think so. It depends where he goes I suppose. 

"With the greatest respect to him, he’s not being sought after by Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City or Arsenal etc...so there’s a level there that teams think he could do a job for them. And then it’s up to him to prove to everybody he’s better than he is.

“When I left Celtic people were saying ‘oh you’re going to England’, and I said ‘well I’m going to try and prove myself’. It’s no different now 20 or 30 years later.

"If he gets to England whether it’s the Championship, which incidentally is such a competitive league and everybody knows that, or the Premier League, I think he’s probably good enough to do that.

“The only thing is Celtic don’t want to lose him, and that would be the main thing, because Celtic have big fish to fry themselves, never mind losing one of their better players”.

Rodgers Right Man For Celtic

In his first season back at Celtic Park, Brendan Rodgers led the Hoops to the league and cup double.

Celtic are also the 1/2 favourites with betting sites to finish top of the table at the end of the forthcoming season.

Rodgers attracted criticism as Celtic crashed out of the group phase of the Champions League, but McInally believes the former Liverpool head coach is still the right man for the job.

“I was actually a little surprised that Brendan even went back to Celtic, genuinely I was. I didn't think that would be a destination that he would pick up again.

“But he has. And by the way, he won the league - put his biggest rivals in their place, Rangers, and that will be the biggest carrot again this season.

"(He needs) to make sure he gets players in that can keep Celtic at the top of the league, and maybe more importantly for the fans, make them more competitive in Europe and try and go further in Europe than they ever have.

“I think he’s good with the players and he knows what he’s doing. There’s a manager with an international football team (Gareth Southgate) that has got stick that you can’t believe for three weeks, and is now sitting in the final of the Euros. Now he’s the greatest thing that ever drew breath. 

“That’s what happens as a manager. There were a couple of stories that I was told that there might be a possibility he (Rodgers) will leave to go elsewhere, but it looks like he’s staying and I think that’s good news for Celtic."