New Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley has detailed his class first experience of Celtic supporters in Glasgow as he continues to integrate himself into life in Scotland.
O’Riley completed a move to Parkhead from MK Dons last week in a deal that seemed to come out of nowhere. The midfielder was also wanted by a host of English Championship clubs, and came across extremely well in his first Hoops interview.
The move represents a huge step-up for the player not just in terms of on-field performance levels but also the level of support and publicity he’ll now receive.
And as he took part in his first pre-match presser as a Celtic midfielder, O’Riley detailed his first experience with the brilliant Hoops support in Glasgow.
Speaking via Celtic TV, O’Riley said: “It’s definitely different from what I’m used to. The facilities, the amount of staff in the building, and even my first day in Glasgow. I was just viewing apartments and I just see 7 blokes just running towards me for pictures and stuff like that.
“So that’s definitely a change in terms of fans and the support, so it’s definitely going to take some getting used to but it’s really cool that the whole city is so together and behind the team.
“Not really to be fair! [On whether he was fit enough to outrun them]. They gave it their all so I couldn’t get away. But they were nice guys and it’s really cool to have that support from just anyone in the street.”
Matt O’Riley will experience a new level of love from the Celtic support
With all due respect to MK Dons, they’re just not Celtic are they? The League One club play in an extremely competitive environment down south, but you just can’t compare them with the Hoops.
The likes of Kyogo Furuhashi, Joe Hart, and Jota for example have all experienced adulation at this club they likely can’t compare to anything else. The level of passion and love this club’s fans has for its players is amazing to see and genuinely unrivaled anywhere.
Of course, it helps if you can put in decent performances on the pitch. That will be O’Riley’s first goal from the get-go. He’s here to play an instant part in Celtic’s season, and hopefully he can do just that at Tynecastle tomorrow night.
The step-up is going to be a challenging one both mentally and physically. But you have to say that Postecoglou’s record in terms of transfer acquisitions has been top-notch so far. O’Riley looks like being another to add to that category going by his traits.
But it says a lot about this club’s support just how affectionate it is to their players without even seeing them in action. O’Riley can expect plenty more of that if he lives in Glasgow.
Fingers crossed we get our first sight of the man in Edinburgh tomorrow. Given the injury problems we currently have, it’s difficult to see why that wouldn’t be the case.
In other news, Ange Postecoglou left unimpressed with Robbie Neilson’s Celtic squad remarks
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
