Crisis? What crisis? Perhaps it was his vast experience that gave Kasper Schmeichel an unmistakable air of confidence as he fielded questions on Celtic’s dismal showing against Kairat Almaty that has left their Champions League hopes dangling by a thread, and emboldened him with the certainty they have enough in the dressing room to get the job done 3500 miles from home.
Maybe too it was that feeling of having seen it all before in football that left the keeper unperturbed by the ongoing and now annual transfer window soap opera that surrounds Celtic at the minute, acknowledging a level of understanding of the fans’ frustrations at their board, but refusing to share in them.
Injuries may be piling up, with the news that Alistair Johnston will be out for up to 12 weeks a hammer blow to this team, while Auston Trusty could be sidelined for some time with plantar fasciitis and Adam Idah is toiling with a knee issue.
And it may also be true that there has yet to be any sort of arrivals this summer who could compensate for the absence of the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kuhn and the injured Jota.
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"I think when I look at the quality that we have in our dressing room and the strength and depth that we have in our dressing room, then I'm very confident, because we've been in difficult situations before and challenging situations,” Schmeichel said.
“But this isn't one of them. We're in a great position. We've got to go and win a game of football, and we are more than capable of doing that.
“This club has been so successful for so many years. So, we're not dealing with people who don't know what they're doing.
“I completely understand fans' frustration. I'm a football fan myself and I want success, and I want all these things instantly. But football's complicated and it's not just it's not just about going and ringing a player's agent and saying, we want him and then it's done. It's a complicated process and sometimes it takes time.
“And like I say, I'm the same as any football fan. I want things straight away, but I'm more than confident with the people who are in charge that they know what they're doing.
“I think you just got to look at the club's track record. There's a reason we've been champions four times now in a row and I don't know how many times over the last 15 years. It's because the club does know what they're doing."
That being said, Schmeichel is all too aware of the perils and pitfalls that can present themselves when travelling to Central Asia, and how difficult it is to perform at your peak after such an arduous journey.
He was in goal for Denmark as they ran out of steam against Kazakhstan late on a couple of years ago, conceding three goals in the last 17 minutes to lose 3-2.
"Let's not talk about that!” he said.
“Yeah, the last time I was there wasn't great. But let’s leave it at that.
“Everyone's organised, everyone has good coaching, everyone has access to these things. The sports science now, it’s a digital world where access is massive and there's so much talk between clubs and seminars about all this.
“So, people have the same knowledge, so every single game is difficult. And I think the biggest mistake any team can make is taking things for granted.
“What I feel we've been so good at at this club, and again, the reason why this club has been so successful, is we don't take things for granted.
“[The travelling] is nothing new. And we have a nice plane and it's not an issue, not an issue at all.
"We've got great sports science people who tell us how best to cope with these things and prepare, and the club does absolutely everything to make sure that travel, accommodation, comfort, food, all those things are on point, whether you stay on British time or you go to their time.
“All those things are thought of and carefully planned. So that's not an issue."
Meanwhile, Schmeichel revealed that reports of his former Leicester City teammate Jamie Vardy being keen on a move to join him once again at Celtic haven’t led him to try and get in touch with his old friend to seal the deal, even though he is sure he would improve his side’s frontline.
"Listen, Jamie is an incredible striker that would make any team better, I think,” he said.
“But I haven't spoken to him about it, no.
“I don't really know what his thoughts would be, or the club's thoughts would be, but I can only say when I played with him at Leicester, he was an incredible guy and an incredible striker."
