Matt O’Riley has been speaking about the joy he feels playing in front of Celtic supporters.
The Denmark youth international has been in Glasgow for around 20 months now, lifting four trophies to date and sampling many major matches for the club.
O’Riley has spoken almost from day one about being bowled over by the size of Celtic. Having joined from English lower-league side MK Dons, that’s hardly a surprise.
After a disappointing cup exit to Kilmarnock on Sunday, he has been in the media once again to assure supporters that the players won’t ever take them for granted.
“It’s amazing, very unique in that sense,” he told The Scotsman. “I think we should all feel pretty lucky as players to be a part of that environment. For most of the players in this team, in their career, they are not going to be involved in anything like that ever again.
“[The fact against] so-called smaller teams in the league like St Johnstone and Dundee we are getting 60,000, just shows how big the club really is.
“I don’t think people understand the magnitude of the club until they are really up here. You hear things about Celtic and Rangers being really big clubs, but until you are actually here in the city and really feel it I don’t think you can get the same sense of that.
“I know where I am. I think I am mature enough to recognise that playing in front of 60,000 every week is something you can’t take for granted.
“There are people who will never be lucky enough to do that at all, so I think you have to make the most of it every week and the more people you play in front of the more enjoyable it is.”
O’Riley’s comments seem particularly pertinent after a period that has seen several Celtic first-team stars move on to bigger leagues.
So far in 2023 the club have lost Josip Juranovic, Giorgos Giakoumakis, Jota and Carl Starfelt, while speculation has been rife about some other stars.
The above four left for different reasons — some personal relationships, others for life changing financial sums or a more competitive league. Despite those factors, it is always a bit disheartening when you see idolised players looking to move on from Celtic.
O’Riley’s comments are a reminder that there aren’t many other clubs like us. I mean, seriously, how many sides would sell 60,000 tickets for home games against St. Johnstone and Dundee?
Very few players leave Celtic and go on and play for bigger clubs. Off the top of my head, only Virgil Van Dijk and Kieran Tierney could make that claim in recent years.
O’Riley gets it. Now it’s time for him to find some consistency on the pitch and lead us to more glory.
In other news, Celtic fans will find out how much the club are charging for UEFA Champions League tickets very soon
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