SMOOTH OPERATOR
Vaclav doesn’t fear Bhoys
In his native Czech tongue, Vaclav Hladky’s surname translates as smooth.
And no Buddies fan would argue the talented goalkeeper isn’t one of the smoothest operators the club currently boasts on the pitch.
The 28-year-old became even more of a fan favourite when his three crucial penalty saves helped keep them in the Premiership in May.
And after several impressive performances and clean sheets already this campaign, the cool keeper isn’t daunted by the Saints trip to face Celtic tonight - he’s buzzing for it.
“I’m not nervous, why should I be?” the confident shot-stopper said.
“It’s only football and these games are about your performance and doing the best you can. So I’m not nervous.
“Celtic is a bit different from a normal league game, it’s a bigger stadium and one of the nicer stadiums in Scotland.
“It’s a great time for me and for the club as well so we are only looking forward to it.
“For everyone at St Mirren it’s a big game. We know it’s difficult to play there because the level of the players at Celtic is so high.
“I’m going to be a busy man but that suits me. I’m looking forward to it.
“If you make five or six good saves then it’s good for me. It’s as simple as that.”
The task couldn’t be much trickier for St Mirren when they travel to Parkhead tonight, with Neil Lennon’s troops purring after a dramatic late win over Lazio last Thursday night and a 4- 0 mauling of Aberdeen on Sunday.
But Hladky insists the Buddies are up to the challenge and their solid defensive structure gives them a chance of bagging something from the game.
He said: “We are ready to accept the challenge and try and do what we can do best.
“I watched Celtic against Aberdeen and at half-time I’d seen enough as it was so crazy.
“Celtic were so, so good and the result speaks for itself.
“When I watching it I knew tonight would be a busy time for me but that’s always the case against Celtic.
“I remember trying my best and concentrating on everything previously and I’ll need to do that again as it’ll be a busy time.
“It’s a fantastic atmosphere but our fans also create a fantastic atmosphere in every single match. It will be great for both teams. Everyone expects Celtic to win by five or six goals so for us it’s just about doing our work the best we can. “Then we can hope to get a good result.” Hladky also paid tribute to his likely counterpart on the night Fraser Forster, who he believes he can learn a huge amount from.
He added: “Fraser is a fantastic goalkeeper, I knew him years ago when he played at Celtic and it’s a big deal for them to have him. I want to learn from him as he’s a legend.”