Matt O'Riley discusses Postecoglou phone call that convinced him of Celtic move

By John McGinley

January 20, 2022

New Celtic signing Matt O’Riley says a phone call from manager Ange Postecoglou convinced him to join up at the club.

The attacking midfielder has signed a four-and-a-half-year contract from MK Dons, becoming Celtic’s fifth signing of the January window after Reo Hatate, Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Johnny Kenny.

Postecoglou has already shared his delight with the signing and now O’Riley has given his first interview too.

Specifically, he shared the circumstances around his transfer, telling Celtic TV: “There were other options, ones that I thought were the only ones before Celtic, then Celtic came out of the blue. I found out quite late.

“I had a phone call with Ange and he came across really, really well. He was the one who really sold me. Obviously, the club is massive but just speaking to him really just sorted it out for me.

“The style he plays, all that surrounds it, him as a person – as soon as I came off the phone I was ready to come, to be honest.”

This is fantastic to hear. Who wouldn’t want a phone call off of Ange? In all seriousness, it just shows you what kind of a manager we have here.

He is individually convincing talented players to sign up at a Celtic, who might otherwise have decided to go elsewhere.

It really sounds like Postecoglou has big plans for O’Riley and I can’t wait to see him in action.

In other news, “I’ve got to be honest with you”; Barry Ferguson lauds Celtic, Hatate and Ange ahead of cup meeting.