Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley has stated that the Hoops train exactly how they play as he discussed the adaption he had to make after his move from MK Dons.
O’Riley arrived at Parkhead from the English League One club back in January. At just £1.5m, many questioned whether he would be able to make an immediate impact [Sky Sports]. However, since then, the Danish under-21 international has made a real impact and bagged 15 appearances [Transfermarkt].
His impact was even more impressive given how he was changing to a drastically different style of play halfway through a season. Even so, it hasn’t stopped him from bursting into life at Parkhead.
And as he reflected after his first 2 goals at Celtic Park on Saturday in the 7-0 mauling of St Johnstone, O’Riley has spoken about the training at Lennoxtown and how big the change in intensity was for him.
Speaking to Declan McConville post match, O’Riley said: “When I came in there was an adaptation in terms of intensity right from the start. Obviously, I came from MK Dons and the style there was quite different in terms of we didn’t press as much.
“So in my first game as you probably saw I cramped up after about 80 minutes because I wasn’t used to that style of play. But then within a couple of games I felt fine and felt adapted. I think the way we train is key to the way we play as well.
“If we don’t drive those levels every day then it won’t transfer into the game. So the way we played today is kind of how we train every day anyway behind the scenes. That’s what we try to do.”
Celtic couldn’t compete at those levels without consistency at Lennoxtown
It says a lot about O’Riley that he was able to make the adjustment so smoothly. Within days of his debut against Hearts he was ready to go again against Dundee United at Parkhead. It must’ve been a big change for him, and that he’s settled in so comfortably says a lot about his own individual mentality.
But he’s not wrong in what he says here either. Celtic simply couldn’t have produced the performance they did against St Johnstone on Saturday if there wasn’t consistency at Lennoxtown. It’s not possible for them to do be doing the bare minimum in the build-up and then putting in such incredible energy levels on a Saturday.
Behind the scenes at Lennoxtown is the one thing Celtic supporters just don’t see in a football sense. We’re not privy to how the players prepare for games. We’re not given a rundown of their schedule or the details of how Ange works his players. Where we get to judge them is on a Saturday – that’s when we see the fruits of their labour.
If the weekend was anything to go by, training at Lennoxtown really has gone up a few notches this season. And you can see just by listening to O’Riley how important their work throughout the week actually is.
You can’t say the Celtic fans don’t deserve this after last season either. This kind of work rate and mentality is long overdue at the club. It’s just brilliant to see Ange delivering it in such an emphatic manner.
Here’s hoping training is just as high-octane this week. I don’t know about you, but another 7-0 this Sunday wouldn’t be too bad. No pressure Ange!
In other news, Celtic man Josip Juranovic in brilliant “from the first minute” pre-derby battle cry
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