With Celtic bouncing back to success in manager Ange Postecoglu’s maiden season at the club, expectations are high for his second year in charge with the 2022/23 Scottish Premiership campaign almost ready to kick off for real.
Having beaten Rangers to the title by a clear four points, Postecoglu’s side will be looking to retain the title for consecutive years again and one player who will be key to them achieving that is Denmark Under 21 international Matt O’Riley.
The 21-year-old youngster had a fantastic first six months at Parkhead having made the switch to them back in the January transfer window for a reported £1.5 million from English League One side MK Dons. Returning four goals for the title charge from his 13 starts and seven substitute appearances, bigger things are expected from the youngster next term now he better knows the challenges of the Scottish top flight, and speaking to the media recently with pre season preparations and games well under way, although he concedes that Rangers will most likely push Celtic even harder next season in the race for the trophy, he feels the side will taste further success as long as they maintain their own standards and take a tunnel vision approach to the matches that lie ahead over the next season. For those who like a flutter, premiership football betting would give you good odds on Celtic lifting another title.
“We expect everyone to come back strong. We focus on how we can improve. And if we do that the rest will take care of itself. It is down to us at the end of the day and that comes from the top of the club all the way down. Training standards are high, off the park standards are high. We just need to keep pushing as high as we can.”
O’Riley went on to say that confidence in the camp was also very high this pre season and the players know that as long as they reach the standards expected from them on a football pitch, that they are more than capable of beating any of the opposition that they will face this coming season on a domestic front – so ultimately it is in their hands again.
“When we play at our best we can beat just about anyone. It is doing that week in, week out and continually pushing each other to be better. If we do it well on the pitch then it will work. That is why we work hard on the training pitch, because if we keep improving, step by step, we are going to be a really good team.”
With five fresh faces in the dressing room this season as Postecoglu continues to tweak his playing staff in the search for even more improvement, it is widely believed that the former Australia gaffer is still on the hunt for a midfielder but O’Riley dismissed suggestions that Celtic now lack a so called midfield enforcer.
“When we play well it’s irrelevant. There are times and games when you need a more solid foundation. But if we perform and execute the game-plan as we should then everything else will take care of itself. The style suits me to a T. I’m at a massive club and they play the football I want to play. It’s a win-win in that sense. I just want to keep improving myself because I still feel I have a lot more to show and give. I feel really settled, which is the main thing.”
Whether or not Postecoglu does now add that enforcer remains to be seen, but fans will go into the coming campaign in good spirits and very hopeful of adding further silverware to the already rich and bloated trophy cabinet.
