Kasper Schmeichel has been a good Celtic keeper. But it’s time to move on.

The team needs a lot going into next season, but one of the areas where the need is most obvious is in goal. Kasper Schmeichel is having a difficult spell right now and it is becoming uncomfortable to watch. It must be even harder for him, trying to perform with a shoulder injury, but that is exactly why he should not be in the team at the moment.

Schmeichel is another player who has given excellent service to Celtic. He has done an exemplary job, just as Joe Hart did before him. These are big personalities in the dressing room. Their influence goes beyond performances on the pitch. They help set standards, drive professionalism and maintain the winning mentality that defines this squad. You need players like that around the club.

I always felt we missed a trick by not offering Joe Hart a coaching role. We would make the same mistake if we did not consider one for Schmeichel. What we cannot do, however, is give him another year as a first-team player. In truth, he should not even be starting right now. The injury limits him, and those limitations are affecting both him and the team.

His reluctance, or inability, to fully extend himself to his left is obvious. Opponents will notice that if they have not already. Over time, that weakness will become a target. That is how football works. Once a vulnerability appears, teams exploit it.

This situation is not comfortable. No one wants to see a player of his reputation and achievements struggle like this. A career like his deserves to end with dignity and respect. Celtic should do the right thing for him by taking him out of the firing line. There is no shame in that. Everyone understands the circumstances. Everyone knows this is a tight title race. The club has to act in its own interests first.

Celtic cannot afford to play someone who is not fully fit, especially when that lack of fitness affects results. That is not criticism of the player. It is simply an acknowledgment of reality. The same reality applies to other selection decisions. Some supporters argue that Hatate should be dropped entirely. That argument, whether you agree with it or not, is also based on a cost-benefit analysis.

The same analysis applies in goal.

Sinisalo does not have Schmeichel’s experience, but the club must make a decision about him as well. Either he plays and proves himself, or he becomes another player collecting a wage without contributing to the campaign. If he does not get games now, when the need is obvious, when will he?

Will he get a chance in the summer? Or will he sit and watch the club sign another goalkeeper while he remains the understudy? If the long-term plan is for him to become number one, then this is the moment to begin that transition. Otherwise, he faces another season on the bench.

The second goal conceded yesterday highlighted the problem. A fully fit Schmeichel probably reaches that shot. Without the shoulder issue, he likely keeps it out. Yes, that would have denied us a dramatic comeback, but Celtic should not be relying on recoveries from two goals down. That situation should never arise in the first place.

This was not an isolated incident either. There have been other moments recently that have raised concerns. None of them were catastrophic. None of them suggest he is no longer a good goalkeeper. They simply show the effects of age and injury.

Football is a merit-based business. You cannot keep selecting a player week after week if physical limitations affect performance. Once weaknesses become visible, opposition analysts and coaches will target them. If Celtic ignore that reality, it could cost the team badly during the run-in.

Schmeichel has not let the club down through lack of effort or professionalism. The problem is simpler than that. He has reached the stage of his career where playing every week, in a high-pressure title race, asks too much of him. That is not a criticism. It is the natural reality of a long career.

Continuing as we are helps no one. It does not help the player, and it does not help Celtic.

The club also has a young goalkeeper who needs a pathway. Either we trust him now or we admit that he has no future here. He is too good to spend another season as a permanent backup. He knows that. The club knows it too.

The transition has to start somewhere.

Is it a risk? Possibly. However, it is no greater risk than leaving an injured and declining number one between the sticks during the most important stretch of the season. The real danger lies in refusing to make the difficult decision.