It’s not just O’Riley- Sutton bites back at the critics

Chris Sutton has put forward a simple explanation for Matt O’Riley’s apparent recent dip in form.

Prior to the winter break the midfielder looked well on course to sweep up the Player of the Year gongs but over the last month or so he has suffered along with the rest as Celtic dropped points to Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Hearts.

Currently, at the age of 23, O’Riley is the most experienced midfielder available to Brendan Rodgers which seems to have raised expectations on the Dane just at the moment his standards have slipped a little.

The obvious reason for many is that the midfielder is unsettled after an offer from Atletico Madrid was rejected in January but in the Daily Record Sutton has a far more obvious explanation:

You have to take into account it’s not just O’Riley that’s seen a dip – the entire Celtic team hasn’t clicked often enough since the turn of the year. Or more of the season, in fact. O’Riley hasn’t been helped by the inconsistency of selection either. Celtic can’t make excuses for injuries when they have a cast of thousands in their squad.

But we know the recruitment in the summer and January wasn’t good enough. O’Riley has had to carry the midfield on his own at times, with Reo Hatate out long term and now Callum McGregor on the sidelines.

At times it’s been Paulo Bernardo in there alongside him. Previously it was David Turnbull. There have been occasions when McGregor has pushed up and it’s been Tomoki Iwata sitting deeper. The one constant has been O’Riley and it can take its toll.

Don’t forget last season either. At this time O’Riley was struggling to even get in the starting 11 as Aaron Mooy enjoyed a run of games after the new year. He’s still a young player and you’ve got to expect some inconsistency.

I still believe O’Riley has been one of Celtic’s top performers this season. And I don’t think for a second his form is related to the January transfer talk. If anything, that stuff should inspire him. When you look at his performances in the Champions League, in the home games against Atletico and Lazio in particular, you’d expect more interest in him in the summer.

If a big money offer comes in then I don’t think fans would grudge him a big move. A lot could depend on his performances from now until the end of term though.

Alongside Joe Hart and Kyogo Furuhashi, O’Riley is the only Celtic regular not to have been out injured this season.

At their peak almost exactly a year ago when they were on a 17 match winning run Ange Postecoglou’s starting midfield consisted of McGregor, Hatate and Mooy with none of them contenders for a place against St Johnstone today.

O’Riley was a very useful 60th minute substitute during that run, he excelled for the bulk of this season when he was given his chance but the others brought into midfield have justified their status as squad players.

McGregor and Hatate are nearing a return to action, one spin off from that could be O’Riley’s game returning to the standards he showed in the Champions League at a vital time in the season with two trophies still to be decided.