Pressure..it’s all in a day’s work for us
CELTS ACE O’RILEY SAYS THERE ARE NO NERVES AS THEY NEAR THE FINISH LINE
MATT O’RILEY insists Celtic
won’t be suffering any endof-season jitters as they look to claim the Premiership
crown in style.
The Hoops ace admitted it would be natural for nerves to kick in just one win from lifting the title.
But O’riley is adamant he loves the pressure after being well warned about the expectation levels in Glasgow by boss Ange Postecoglou (right).
The playmaker wants to reach out for the title against Hearts today and said: “That was something the manager actually prepared me for before I came.
“I had a phone call with him the day before I travelled to Glasgow and he spoke to me about the pressures of having to win all the time and how all draws are pretty much considered a loss.
“But I like that – it makes it more fun for me. The pressures of football are what gets everyone so excited, it’s why we all love it so much. There’s tension because there’s a lot at stake but it’s genuinely fun to be part of that.
“I’m not thinking about getting anything over the line. I’ll just concentrate on what the job is – which is winning the game – and the rest can take care of itself. We can’t control anything other than that so that’s the approach.”
O’riley reckons
Hearts will be determined to crash any Parkhead party as they prepare for the Scottish Cup final.
He said: “I’m sure they’ll be fired up. From their point of view they’ll need to think about their form going into the Cup Final .
“They’ll want to be playing well and there will be places up for grabs in their cup final team. I’m sure they’ll come with a lot of intensity and we need to be ready for that.
“But it’s just another game for us and we’ll approach it the same as we do every other one and, hopefully, take care of business.”
O’riley has made a huge impact since his arrival in January and having bagged a
Denmark under-21 call- up, he’s got his sights on joining Christian Eriksen and the senior squad at the World Cup later this year.
He said: “That would be great and it’s certainly a target for me. “Let’s see what happens, though – there’s a lot of football to be played between now and then and a lot of hard work to do. I’ll take it as it comes.
“Obviously, I’d also like to go to the World Cup finals in Qatar in November and, if I can maintain my level here – or even improve on it – then, hopefully, I’ll have a chance.”
The midfielder knows doing the business in Europe could help him get there and he insisted Celts can be inspired by rivals Rangers’ Euro exploits.
O’riley said: “That’s the right way to look at it. Fair play to them, they’ve done really well in that competition and you can’t hold it against them.
“But it just goes to show that if we’re ready and firing on all cylinders in those big games then we’ll definitely give ourselves a really good chance.”