Matt O’Riley gave his thoughts on Celtic’s two match tour of Japan in his interview with Celtic TV yesterday….
The Celtic midfielder has certainly enjoyed the experience of visiting and playing in Japan and has been in awe that the Celtic support was there in numbers, both travelling from all over the world and of course from the Hoops fans in Japan.
“It was tough and not just because of the weather as this pitch was bit more heavier than the first game. You will probably see it on camera that some of the boy’s faces were a bit more tired after this game but that is understandable after a week of travel, just starting to get over the jetlag.
“It was a good test and both of the teams here in Japan played some really good football and made it difficult for us.
“It has been unique, at least in my experience, playing against teams like this as you are usually playing against teams who are also trying to build their fitness. That has been a challenge as both side’s fitness were high as they are halfway through their season.
“From a structural point of view, they have good team cohesion and understand each other well. The games have been tough and I think they will help us going into the season.
And on the Celtic support in Japan: “It has been pretty cool. Even on the team walk before the game, we saw a full ferry of Celtic fans singing. I was so struck to see that but at the same time I wasn’t because I know I am at Celtic and that is what you get here. I think it is really cool that we get this amount of fans worldwide.”
Chant between the bridge and boat.
戎橋とボートでチャントの掛け合い
セルティックファンは大盛り上がり😆🍀#CelticJapanTour #セルティックジャパンツアー #CelticFamily pic.twitter.com/q8ZJAh6Zsr— 🍀Nobu Yamanaka”nobubhoy”🍀🏴🇯🇵 (@Nobubhoy) July 23, 2023
On Celtic’s Japanese stars enjoying bring the Hoops to their homeland: “They have been excited since we got here and we can see that. A lot of the team are considered idols and gods to quite a lot of fans but here we are pretty irrelevant.
“Your Daizen Maedas, Kyogo Furuhashis are looked at in awe. Whereas us we are tourists. That part has been cool, seeing them have the limelight and everyone else can relax and take it all in,” Matt O’Riley said.
On how he feels going into the new season: “Really good. We are in a better place than the last game. I think the scoreline in the last match wasn’t good enough but it was still early in pre-season.
“I am not making excuses but the boys had travelled a lot and we weren’t as sharp. Today, though, we were really solid defensively and showed that by putting our bodies on the line in a pre-season game.”
昨日はありがとうございました！近日中に記事に関して改めてメールにてご連絡させていただきます🙇♂️ Hail Hail🍀 pic.twitter.com/2vVSlXDmIx
— Yatao (@yataoda4) July 23, 2023
And on working under Brendan Rodgers: “I have been very lucky to work under two great managers in a short space of time so I am quite grateful to have worked with the calibre of manager I have at a young age.
“The gaffer is great at getting his point across in a concise way and that makes it easier for us to transition onto the pitch and being able to have a relationship with him where we can speak to each other and learn things constantly in an open environment. Thats quite enjoyable.”
