The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Celts boss praises ‘phenomenal’ star
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has praised Matt O’Riley for producing “phenomenal” consistency when the team as a whole sometimes struggled to deliver such dependable performances.
O’Riley’s impressive campaign was rewarded at the club’s awards night on Sunday when he received three prizes – for player of the year, players’ player of the year and young player of the year.
The 23-year-old scored his 16th goal of the campaign in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Rangers at Celtic Park, which leaves Celtic on the brink of the cinch Premiership title and he tops the division’s assist charts with 12.
Rodgers told Celtic TV: “He has been absolutely phenomenal really in his consistency. I think if we lacked anything as a team, it was probably that.
“But from an individual perspective his goal return... I think someone said he had scored his first goal of last season in January of last year. So to look at his numbers now, it’s huge testament to himself because the work he puts in, the focus he puts in every single day at training to improve and be better, that’s clearly been rewarded by his teammates and everyone else. It’s very well deserved.”
The former Fulham youth player and MK Dons midfielder was the subject of a bid from Atletico Madrid in January and more offers are likely to follow for the Denmark international.
“He is 23 years of age so, if he looks after himself and gets to 35 years of age, he still has another 12 years in the game, and he is only really at the beginning of what they call the asset age,” Rodgers said. “He has so many great years ahead of him.
“The beauty about Matt is that he is a learner. He wants to learn, he wants to improve and if he keeps that hunger he will continually do that.
“He is very humble, there is nothing flash about him. His peers recognise the work he puts in and the mentality that he has.
“They know when they sit beside him in the changing room, this is a guy that puts in absolutely everything for the team and that is obviously very much respected.”