Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley has opened up on what the Danish staff told him about youth team progression after being called up for the U21s.
In a proud moment for the Celtic January signing, O’Riley will be a part of the Danish U21 squad to face Belgium in 9 days. The game itself will be a crucial one with the Danes looking to reel the Belgians in at the top of their UEFA U21 European Championship qualification group.
The call-up marks a hugely exciting time for O’Riley ahead of what’s bound to be an intense title run-in. Celtic are 3 points clear at the top of the Premiership with only 7 games remaining. As things stand, a treble could also be on the cards if they win the Scottish Cup too.
But for now, O’Riley’s immediate focus will be on giving Denmark U21s a boost in their Euro qualification bid. And as he reflected on his call-up, he disclosed what he was told by the Danish staff that left him hugely excited.
As quoted by the Glasgow Times, Matt said: “I wasn’t sure that I would get called up but I knew that I had a chance so I was really pleased with it. I’d just tried to keep my performance levels up for Celtic and focus on playing well so it is nice to get the chance.
“I know a few of the guys and I am actually very good mates with one of the guys we played against at Bodo/Glint – Japhet Sery. That will help but I am quite confident of being able to settle into the team quickly, just as I did here.
“When I had the meeting with the staff they told me that 18 from the 24 players in the senior squad had all come through the 21s and it is something they feel strongly about, that there is a progressive path for the players. It is something that I can hopefully do. If this is step one for me then step two is obviously really pushing for the senior team.”
Matt O’Riley ready to seize his big Danish opportunity
It’ll be interesting to see how O’Riley fares when his side faces off against Belgium next Tuesday. Whether there’s a place for him immediately in the starting XI remains to be seen.
In recent weeks at Celtic, O’Riley has had to settle for a squad player role. He was on the bench against Ross County yesterday and only came on in the first half due to an injury to Tom Rogic. It was the same in recent league fixtures against Hibernian and Livingston respectively.
This says more about the strength of the squad Celtic currently have at their disposal more than it does any lack of quality from O’Riley. He’s still used consistently by Ange Postecoglou and looked back to his best against Ross County yesterday.
It sets him up well for his international endeavours knowing full well he has a big Glasgow derby to look forward to when he returns. Denmark U21s only have one game scheduled for the current break, so O’Riley will be anything but overworked.
All Ange will be caring about is that his players come back from the break fit, healthy, and ready to tackle our biggest challenge of the season so far. A win at Ibrox would do wonders for our title hopes, and you have to imagine the Celtic players are fully aware of that.
Hopefully, O’Riley is able to make a difference, but only after seizing his opportunity with Denmark U21s.
In other news, Video: The superb 88th-minute Daizen Maeda clip that shows his Celtic commitment
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