Matt O’Riley seems to have even more admiration for Celtic’s Japan stars after a recent trip to the country.
The Hoops arrived back in Scotland recently after a terrific week spent in Japan as part of their pre-season preparations.
The club took on J1 League opposition in the shape of Yokohama F. Marinos and Gamba Osaka, and raised our appeal in the country.
The trip also gave Japanese stars Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi, Reo Hatate, Tomoki Iwata and Yuki Kobayashi a chance to play club matches back in their homeland.
The Celtic quintet all made life-changing decisions to move to Scotland to further their football careers, and O’Riley now seems to understand how big an undertaking that was given the differences between the countries.
Speaking to the Daily Record about the week-long trip, he said: “It was tricky with the games and training but we managed to see some places and it was a great experience.
“It has been great for our Japanese boys being back in their home environment.
“They got recognised a lot and you realise how tough it must be for them in Scotland as it’s so culturally different.
“This is all part of being at a club like Celtic. You see the likes of Man City and PSG coming out here. We are not quite at their level yet – but we are back in the Champions League again.”
O’Riley’s comments chime with ones made by Callum McGregor on Tuesday. The Celtic skipper admitted he had a new found appreciation for our Asian stars for dealing with factors like time difference and altered conditions.
It seems likely that the issue has been spoken about by a number of players. Having more awareness of their team-mates can only be a good thing, and bring the squad even closer.
Let’s hope the likes of Hatate, Maeda and Furuhashi put in a higher level of performance than many of their team-mates in Japan this season.
In other news, Celtic’s pot three chances and who you should be supporting in Champions League qualifying
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