HE has been granted permission to be more selfish, so you’ll forgive Matt O’Riley a moment to lament the fact all his mates seem to be leaving Celtic.
First, it was Jota, now Carl Starfelt is packing his bags for a seemingly inevitable goodbye. Brendan Rodgers confirmed after Saturday’s opening day Premiership win over Ross County that he expects the Swedish centre-back to depart in the coming days.
He looks set to join La Liga side Celta Vigo, bringing to an end a hugely successful two years in Glasgow. Having grown close to Jota and Starfelt since arriving in January 2021, the summer window has been tinged by a hint of sadness for O’Riley.
But he still wishes his friend the very best, and believes there should be serious appreciation of his Celtic contribution, forming one half of a formidable centre-back pairing with Cameron Carter-Vickers.
“I think he has been a very, very important player for the club,” said O’Riley. “He is probably one of my best friends here as well, so I’m a bit sad because I am losing all my friends here it seems.
“But we have a really good group and it’s football. I am happy for him and I hope he does really well if he does move.
“He will leave the club having had a really good time here and played some really good football. He has won five trophies here in two years, so that’s not bad.
“Definitely [he will be remembered]. Change is part of football, it’s part of life. Especially at a club like Celtic where the demands to play are so high.
“We have brought Maik in, we have Cam, Scalesy, we have Welshy, we have a lot of depth in that position. That is positive and what you need at a club like this when you play so many games.
“I am not sure what the club will do, whether they bring someone else in. But from my perspective, Carl has been a really good servant to the club and I think we should appreciate that.
“I will probably miss him more as a pal, to be honest! Me, Carl and Jota were quite close. So, the trio has been destroyed. Then there was one….
“But I have enough friends here, so I’m not going to feel sorry for myself.”
O’Riley assisted Celtic’s second and scored their fourth on Saturday, hammering high past Ross Laidlaw after being played in by Kyogo. It was a ruthless finish, and the direct result of coaching wisdom that displaying a little more selfishness in front of goal can actually be of considerable benefit to the team.
The Denmark U-21 international freely admits he prefers to set up goals over applying the finishing touch, but conversations with Gavin Strachan, in particular, have opened him up to the notion of adding a killer instinct to his game.
‘Yeah, there are probably times when I need to be a bit more selfish, just for the sake of the team and not for my own sense of self,” said O’Riley. “I think there are times when I genuinely should shoot to help the team rather than think about myself.
“Naturally I get quite a lot of pleasure from seeing my teammates do well. I probably enjoyed the dribble and chip for David’s goal more than I did my own.
“It sounds bad but I probably did. To help someone else get a bit of joy as well is quite nice. I spoke with Gavin Strachan especially and he said to me I need to be a bit more selfish sometimes.
“Like I said, for the goal that I scored I actually did want to pass and that would have been a terrible decision!”
O’Riley is one of a few adjusting to a slightly altered role in Brendan Rodgers’ setup. Under Ange Postecoglou, the 22-year-old was one of two advanced midfielders, whereas now he is playing noticeably deeper alongside Callum McGregor.
But he still has ample license to get forward. Rodgers has clearly instructed Kyogo to drop in and become more involved in Celtic’s build-up, instead of playing almost exclusively on the shoulder of opposition defenders. The aim is to then flood the space Kyogo vacates with midfield runners, a ploy that worked to perfection for O’Riley’s goal.
He admits he prefers this new positional tweak, believing he can play his best football with the game in front of him, as well as contributing more defensively. He occasionally deputised for McGregor at the base of midfield last season, and is relishing the opportunity to operate there more frequently.
“For me personally, I thrive a bit more when I am coming on to the game,” O’Riley explained. “I am not saying I can’t play the higher role well.
“But when I can see the play happen I can make runs off of other people’s movements and that’s probably where I’m best.
“I also like defensively going back to help as well. I think that is something I have improved since I have been at the club.
“Playing in Callum’s role last season probably improved me as an all round player and physically I am in a better place than I was last season as well. Still a long way to go but things are starting to come together.
“It wasn’t our best performance by any means.
“First half we started really badly. We gave away too many corners and set-pieces, which is what they are good at.
“We were very sloppy but second half we started very well. Structurally, we were in the right positions to hurt them.
“We didn’t score three goals but the positions we took up were more like the kind of football we want to play.”
