Matt O’Riley would be the first one to tell you that his recent Celtic form hasn’t reached his very high standards.
The Danish midfielder has been a great addition to Celtic since his move from MK Dons in January 2022.
O’Riley has netted big goals and created numerous more, playing across different positions in tough circumstances.
His lack of game time in recent months, and failure to hit the heights of last season, have led to him becoming a bit of a whipping boy for the Celtic support.
Perhaps it’s just the incredible talent of Reo Hatate and the brilliantly effective Aaron Mooy that he’s compared with, but a few may have been guilty of forgetting just how good O’Riley can be.
He attracted criticism for his below-par display in the weekend win over Ross County, but the truth is that many of his team-mates were also not fully at the races.
O’Riley has had some stuff to deal with at Celtic in recent months, as he alluded to in a recent press conference.
At the time, he said: “I think sometimes there’s things away from football, that people may not see, that can also affect you at times.
“I understand from a fan’s perspective that they only see what happens on the pitch which is completely fair enough.
“But if something is happening elsewhere then sometimes that plays a part on you mentally.”
O’Riley can play much better, but some of the chat about him not being good enough for Celtic seems excessive.
You’d be foolish to write him off, given his attitude and undoubted talent.
When we defeated Rangers in September, he was a key part of the victory, setting up the first two goals with quick thinking.
That sort of attitude may be exactly what is required on Saturday, even if he comes off the bench.
In other news, Connor Goldson was taking some inspiration from Ange Postecoglou in his pre-derby comments
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