WITH the greatest of respect to MK Dons, the rise of their former captain Matt O’Riley has been a remarkable one over the past six months or so. Not only has the young midfielder become an integral member of the Celtic squad, but he may well find himself at the World Cup come the end of the year.
It has been a lot for the 21-year-old to absorb, but he has managed to take it all in his stride, from proving he had what it takes to hold down a regular place in Ange Postecoglou’s team, helping them to win the Scottish Premiership, to embracing an opportunity he has been given to play international football with Denmark’s under-21 side.
He now believes that realising his dream to play in the World Cup may be close, but as you might expect given his level-headed nature, he is firmly aware that the key to catching Danish head coach Kasper Hjulmand’s eye is to focus on giving his best at Celtic on a daily basis.
“It has been a crazy few months to be fair, with the Denmark stuff included,” O’Riley said.
“In football you don’t really know what to expect. You can be playing in one league and end up in another, so you don’t really know what could happen.
“The first few weeks I was a bit shocked by the fans, 50,000 every week but after that it feels quite normal, which is nice.
“I feel I am playing at a comfortable level for myself, which is positive. I feel really settled which is the main thing.
“I don’t want to say this in an arrogant way but I was at Fulham for a long time. I turned down a contract there because I didn’t feel it was the right pathway for me.
“I have been playing with good players from a young age which is good and helps you when you transfer to a big club like Celtic. From a quality point of view I felt I fitted in well in training.
“I trained with the [Denmark] first-team for a few days and I really enjoyed that. Playing for the 21s was also a proud moment for me because I got to see my family there and it was great for my mum. It was cool and has been a great experience.
“Everyone is really friendly there as well and it is a lot like Celtic because everyone welcomes you.
“It is down to me. If I can do well then I think I will have a good chance [of making the World Cup squad]. There is a lot of football to be played.
“I will concentrate on Celtic and we’ll see what happens.”
O’Riley of course won’t be the first Danish international player to turn out for Celtic if he does indeed make the full squad in time, and a former Celt has been a good sounding board for him over the past few months in Morten Wieghorst.
Wieghorst spent seven years at Celtic in the nineties and is now the assistant manager of the Danish senior national side, giving O’Riley a useful insight into what it takes to make an impact with both his club and his country.
“I spoke to him two or three times,” O’Riley said.
“He is a really nice guy. I had a meeting with him after the Bodo/Glimt game [in February]. I went for lunch with him and the under-21 coach.
“He is a really nice and down-to-earth guy and you can tell he has Celtic background.
“I spoke to him out there as well. It is good to have somebody to talk to.”
