Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers, swept into Paradise this summer in a blaze of publicity this summer. Whilst many fans were unsure of the move, there were others that backed his return fully.
Rodgers’ first period at Celtic saw the Irishman improve the careers of the likes of Scott Brown, James Forrest and Callum McGregor.
Rodgers brought discipline and elevated the standards of the club to levels we had not seen since the Martin O’Neill days.
Now that he is back, his doing the same all over again. We have already seen the resurgence of David Turnbull and the improvement in Daizen Maeda.
But there is another Celtic star that is clearly benefitting from the influence of the new Celtic manager and that is Matt O’Riley.
The Hoops midfielder has already stated that he is enjoying his new role in the team under Rodgers. Goals in the opening two SPFL fixtures have shown that he is being allowed to roam in the more forward areas in a bid to help the teams attacking threat
But what we have also seen from O’Riley is improvements off the pitch. He is much more confident in front of the cameras. He speaks well about the club and after the way we saw him support David Turnbull in the post-match interview after the win against Ross County, we are seeing O’Riley display leadership qualities that we didn’t see last season.
That comes with confidence and O’Riley seems to be brimming with it. We are only two games into the season and the improvements both on and off the pitch are stark for the Danish u21 international.
It will be very interesting to see what the season brings for O’Riley. If the first two games are anything to go by, he could be in for a very special year under Rodgers.
In other news, Celtic’s next 9 fixtures and the big test ahead for Brendan Rodgers’ squad
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