Jim Duffy has branded the Danish manager, Kasper Hjulmand, as ‘lazy’ over Matt O”Riley’s absence in his squad selection for EURO 2024.
Matt O’Riley’s snub from the Danish EURO 2024 squad has left many across Europe, and especially at Celtic completely baffled. O’Riley has enjoyed probably the best season of his career, and his current form has undoubtedly helped Celtic clutch the League title and the Scottish Cup. Furthermore, his fantastic form has not only helped Celtic over the line domestically, but has drawn the attention of clubs across Europe, with clubs from England, Germany, and Spain all showing interest in the Danish midfielder.
So, the confusion over O’Riley’s absence in Denmark’s EURO 2024 squad is completely understandable. The Danish manager, Kasper Hjulmand, has been heavily criticised by many, including the Danish media and former Celtic and Danish player Thomas Gravesen over his decision to leave O’Riley out of the squad.
Jim Duff’s opinion
Disgruntled by this thought process
Due to comments made about the quality of Scottish football prior to the squad announcement of the Danish squad, it seems that Kasper Hjulmand’s decision to leave O’Riley out of the squad was purely down to the league he plays in, and had nothing to do with the quality of the player.
Disgruntled by this thought process, the former Dundee and His boss, Jim Duffy spoke to SuperScoreBoard…
“We’ve heard this before with players maybe wanting to play in a certain league and how it may enhance the chances of international recognition.
“But at the risk of saying I think I may be more knowledgeable than the Danish national manager, I don’t think that, but it’s about opinions. And my opinion is you look at the talent of the player, not the league he’s playing in.
“He’s playing in a good league here. We know it’s not a super league, we know it’s not one of the top leagues, but it’s still a very competitive league. And Matt O’Riley has been one of the top, probably the top, midfield players in the country. But I think you need to look at his attributes.
“That, to me, is the sole reason why you pick him or not pick him. If you think these attributes are good enough to complement your squad, you add him. If you don’t, if you think that Christian Eriksen has still got more to offer or whoever it happens to be, then fair enough.
An incredibly unfair situation for Matt
“But I don’t like when managers mention the league because I think it’s kind of a lazy throwaway line really. Maybe they might see the odd game here and there, but they don’t see it on week to week basis. I don’t think they realise the demands of playing for Celtic or the expectations.”
It is an incredibly unfair situation for Matt to be in, with the form he has been showing, he certainly deserved his chance to show it off on the international stage. Furthermore, with a possible exit from Celtic looming, playing in International competitions can add a healthy amount to the price tag, like Josip Juranovic following the World Cup for example.
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