Liam Manning knew Matt O’Riley was destined to hit the heights when the midfielder’s lows never fell below a seven out of 10.
The former MK Dons manager insists he’s rarely seen a young footballer with such leadership qualities and a desire to take responsibility and dictate the game - even when he’s not quite at his best. Driven on by the key man in their engine room, Manning’s Milton Keynes side forced their way into the League One play-off positions by the middle of last season.
So it arrived as a gut-wrenching - yet not entirely unexpected - blow when Celtic swooped to snap up his prize asset a year ago as Ange Postecoglou bolstered his ranks on the way to wrestling the title back from Rangers. Nevertheless Manning couldn’t help but beam with pride at the sight of O’Riley on the biggest stage of all as Celtic mixed it with Real Madrid in the Champions League just months after he’d been used to battling Rotherham and Accrington Stanley.
Having just turned 22, O’Riley has become a mainstay of Postecoglou’s midfield, rotating with Reo Hatate and Callum McGregor in a high-octane midfield triumvirate. But for the first time in an otherwise monumental 12 months for the Denmark U21 international, questions have been asked of his standards in a Hoops shirt.
Without a goal to his name in 27 appearances and with stray passes creeping in of late, punters and pundits have began to question whether it’s time for Postecoglou to rest his 6ft 2in playmaker. Particularly now Aaron Mooy has hit a rich vein of form on his return from World Cup duty not to mention David Turnbull and new signing Tomoki Iwata waiting in the wings.
Manning reckons the Hoops need to keep the faith. Knowing the character inside the shirt as well as anyone, O’Riley’s old mentor - who left Stadium MK last month - insists the midfielder will play his way out of trouble just like he always has on the park.
In fact he reckons it’s only his own highest of standards that have probably led to any noticeable drop, however small, in recent weeks. Speaking to Record Sport , Manning said: “One of Matt’s biggest attributes is his confidence, his self-belief. Matt is in love with the game which is so refreshing as 22.
“He is obsessed by it and will continue doing what he does. One hundred per cent he has the character to play his way through any little blip The challenge that he’s set himself by setting the bar so high .. he will get back up there no problem. Matt’s blips are seven out of 10.
“A lot of players go their whole careers where 80 per cent of their games are seven out of 10s. But with Matt he has had so many eights and nines that it stands out if he drops to a seven. The team is still doing really well which is ultimately the most important thing.”
There’s no arguing that point. Celtic, fresh from rescuing a point in Monday’s Old Firm derby at Ibrox to move a giant step closer to a second successive title, are flying high even when not at their best. Top players don’t go missing in tough times.
And that’s one of the biggest impressions the young O’Riley made on Manning. Even when there was a drop off in standards there was one thing he would never do. Hide.
That was a trait that saw him handed the captain's armband at the age of just 20, the season before Manning took charge. He’s also a student of the game and desperate to keep improving.
And it was that insatiable appetite to learn that saw Manning devote extra time to fine tuning O’Riley’s engine room nous and turning him into the complete midfielder. Manning said: “For his age Matt took on real leadership roles and took more responsibility than most in games.
“A leader isn’t someone that necessarily wears the armband, it’s someone who takes responsibility. Matt would go and seek the ball in tight areas, under real pressure and look to get on it no matter if it was after a mistake. He would drive the team on by trying to get on the ball and move forward.
“That’s what attracted Celtic. It’s really rare in someone so young. But his character, he was really driven to improve.
“I used to sit and do a lot of video work with him. He always wanted to do more of it in terms of seeing his game, learning the game, seeing his own strengths and weaknesses.
“We always knew he was going to get better and better because of that attitude. We did a lot of work with him twisting and turning out of possession.
"A lot of one v ones because he is so tall we worked on getting him into a better position so he could change direction quicker and things like that. Also bits of positional understanding.
"When we moved him to play lower as a six he had it in his head he couldn’t join in attacks whereas we were actually looking for him to do both - so long as he got cover inside when he was doing it. He progressively got better at his understanding and when to join in attacks from deep.
“His numbers were higher in terms of goals and assists by playing lower than when he’d been playing as a 10. Matt just loves having the football so giving him the freedom to join attacks but also a pivotal role in build-up was something he relished.
“I wasn’t surprised to see how seamlessly he fitted into the Celtic style. You can talk about tactics but Matt is just a very good footballer, simple as that.
“I was gutted when he left. You can’t replace that quality or it’s very difficult to replace it in League One. But I watched him in the Champions League this year and it’s a massively rewarding thing when you work with someone and they progress to that level.
“I couldn’t have worked with a better character, a better lad. Seeing him achieve what he has and hopefully what he does this season - it’s a special moment for everyone involved.”
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