Someone said on social media yesterday, referring to Celtic’s failed bid last month to sign what’s-his-name, oh yes Riley McGree, that even when Celtic lose out these days we still win and that remark was referencing Matt O’Riley who like Ange Postecoglou himself seemed to be a Plan B at Celtic. Both of Celtic’s Plan As ended up in the North East of England, the Australian international midfielder at Middlesbrough and our first choice managerial candidate Eddie Howe at Newcastle United.
Today if offered the chance to swap Ange and Matt Riley for Eddie Howie and McGree then you’d wager that not a single Celtic supporter would take that trade, although one or two pretending to be Bhoys would find their way onto Clyde’s Superscoreboard to argue the for the alternatives. You can’t blame them really, if you were a Blue Nose (heaven forbid) then you’d want this current Celtic manager gone as fast as possible and these signings he’s making would be driving you round the bend.
And remember Kyogo and David Turnbull are a few weeks away from being fully fit and Tom Rogic is back from international duty with Australia while Christopher Jullien is now ready to return after over a year on the sidelines. Both Daizen Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi are desperate to make the kind of impact that both Kyogo and now Reo Hatate has made. Nir Bitton is also back after serving his suspension for the red card he picked up last weekend against Dundee United.
A wee confession. When we signed Roy Keane, Robbie Keane, Dublin, Wright and others of that ilk I was ever really that impressed by the policy of the players themselves and even a part of me resented them coming to Celtic to see out their playing careers or add it to their own bucket-lists before it was too late. Needs must and all that but Ange Postecoglou is actually proving it’s not that clever a plan. Hilariously it’s the one that has been implemented across the city with the arrival of Aaron Ramsey on loan from Juventus until the end of the season. With games running out he’s not match fit while Hatate and O’Riley went out there on Wednesday night and dominated the team that the ex-Arsenal man will play for maybe, for a small number of games.
Yesterday O’Riley spoke very well to the Celtic Media Conference ahead of tomorrow’s crucial match at Fir Park and said all the right things about the title race, the need to stay focused and the importance of winning against Motherwell otherwise the gains of beating theRangers will be lost. And he talked about his own match-day experience and his interaction with the Celtic support away from the stadium. It’s all blown his mind really, yet his mindset seems perfect, he’s embracing it all and handling it brilliantly. He’s having the time of his life at Celtic and is looking a superb signing for just £1.5m. Even when we lose out we still win…
“It really inspires all of us to keep pushing each other to chase the final outcome, which we all know is hopefully winning the league. But at the same time we can’t get too carried away. It’s only one game and we’ve got another one on Sunday at Motherwell to focus on now,” Matt said.
But, of course, it’s nice to strive for the best and that’s what we’re going to try to do. We would rather be first than second, that goes without saying. It puts us in a position where we are the people who control our own outcome now.
“We can’t rely on anyone else to drop points, so that’s definitely a better position to be in, and one we want to continue to be in for the rest of the season. That’s the plan, but at the same time, we can’t get carried away with it. We need to take it one game at a time and go from there.”
That atmosphere on Wednesday night was incredible. Awesome, like nothing else in World football sp who wouldn’t enjoy that? “Before the game, I didn’t really know what to expect. I knew the importance of the game and the magnitude of it, but I didn’t know exactly what the experience was going to be like. When I got in that stadium and the game started I was thinking, ‘This is pretty crazy’. In that sense, I was blown away.
“Once the game started I was fine. I found my feet again. It was a cool experience. I think once you play enough games you do get used to it. Even before the Dundee United game last weekend, I was pretty shell-shocked just by the number of people in the stadium.
“Being able to play that game before theRangers match probably helped me in terms of my own headspace. I am someone who likes playing in front of a big crowd. It’s what I thrive on. In that sense, I didn’t find it difficult. I think I relish it more than a game when the number of fans isn’t the best. I found it very enjoyable.”
Unlike McGree, Matt O’Riley opted For Celtic for football reasons, believing that the money will take care of itself. “I said before I left my previous club that I didn’t want to go somewhere where the style would potentially jeopardise the way I like to play. It was pretty evident that it would be the right style for me here when I spoke to the gaffer on the phone. He made it clear I would fit in well here, and hopefully that’s shown in the first few games.
“I really enjoy playing football this way. It’s how the game should be played, in my head. It’s nice to be a part of. It’s always nice to get the recognition, but at the same time I’m just happy to be playing in a team with good players who have the aim to win games. If you do get a draw here, it’s considered a loss, so that’s a big change for me.
“But I enjoy being part of a winning culture, which I think we have here. It’s definitely been a change for me but I’m trying to get used to it. You get a bit more recognition naturally when you are at a bigger club. I’ve had more publicity and attention from the media etc.
“When you can show your ability on a bigger stage you obviously get more credit for it. In that sense it’s been nice to show what I can do. It’s hard to walk around without getting stopped and asked for a photo, which is honestly pretty amazing. It shows how passionate everyone here is about Celtic and football in general.”
