Josh Clarke, a highly regarded Celtic custodian, acknowledges that while on loan at Ayr United, he is picking up important skills from working with Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo at Lennoxtown.
After first joining the Scottish Championship team for a brief stint last season, the 20-year-old goalie returned to Somerset Park in March to work under Parkhead legend Scott Brown once more. He joined the Hoops from Glenavon in Northern Ireland in 2022.
Clarke has made six appearances for the Honest Men so far this campaign, keeping a clean sheet in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Neil Lennon’s struggling Dunfermline side to all but wrap up at least a play-off spot for Ayr.
And he reckons having regular regular ice baths while picking the brains of Celtic No.1 Schmeichel has been crucial in his development after lifting the lid on the key figures who are helping him progress.
I have done some training back at Lennoxtown and been a little bit back and forth,” Clarke said. “I’ll always try to make myself available to train and do my best. It’s something I’ve done for a little while now – going between both clubs.
“Scott Bain, Kasper, Vil and the goalie coach, Stevie Woods, have been great with me. The way the guys approach the game and the mentality the guys have to keep winning, winning, winning is something I see in training every day.
“It becomes instilled in you and I try to bring the best I can. You see them operate – playing Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday every week – and their ability to keep going is quite remarkable.
“I learn from the players. Kasper, as the No1, is brilliant to learn from. If you saw what Kasper does to get himself on the pitch… he does a lot of work behind the scenes. It’s saunas, ice baths and he does everything he can to prepare himself for games.
