Gordon Strachan has praised Matt O’Riley for the manner in which he has conducted himself amid transfer speculation this year.
In the last transfer window where Atletico Madrid had a bid rejected by Celtic and this time around it’s been Atalanta, Southampton and more recently Brighton who have been knocking on Celtic’s door trying to get a deal agreed for the midfielder.
There’s speculation on various Celtic forums that O’Riley is not convinced by the two English clubs as he is seeking Champions League football – and as things stand that could come from moving to the Europa League winners or staying put at Celtic before getting a move on January or maybe next summer.
That would of course suit the Celtic support who are desperate not to lose the club’s star performer.
“I’ve been really impressed”
Strachan has been speaking to topoffshorecasinos.com about just how impressed he’s been by the way Matt O’Riley has conducted himself throughout all this transfer speculation and suggests that younger players should pay heed to this if they ever find themselves in similar situations.
“I’ve got to say that I’ve been really impressed by how Matt O’Riley has handled the speculation about his future at the club. I’ve dealt with players who act very strangely when there’s a potential transfer coming up at this time of the year, and we’ve fallen out, the player and myself,” Strachan said.
“I actually explained to one player once, I said: “You’re OK just now, but once it gets near August and you’ve not got your move, you’re going to act very strangely. You’re not going to like me and you’re not got to like the club. I’m not going to like you.” And that’s what materialised.
“Watch how he’s behaved. He’s been absolutely brilliant”
“Then two months later, when he went to his club, his choice, which I said would always happen, he apologised for his behaviour. That’s a good man. If there are any kids out there watching a player to see how you deal with that level of speculation, then Matt O’Riley is the perfect example to follow. Watch how he’s behaved. He’s been absolutely brilliant. He’s never got caught up in the media.
“His form has been brilliant”
“His form has been brilliant. Nobody’s made an excuse for him because they haven’t needed too. The good thing about Matt O’Riley is that he’s a great character. If he does move on this summer, if a giant like Real Madrid or Barcelona came in for him after a few seasons, he would react exactly the same way. He wouldn’t kick up a fuss or throw his toys out of the pram.
The former Celtic manager concluded with what appears to be an indirect dig at Adam Idah for his toys out the pram approach down at Norwich this summer as he desperately seeks a move back to Celtic.
“I get worried”
“I get worried when I hear about players who are pushing to move and don’t turn up to training or get a mysterious injury. Those guys affect the players around them and bring negativity into your club. As a manager, if you sign someone that does that, they’ll do that to you the next time they want to move on,” Strachan warned.
Not that Brendan Rodgers will worry too much about that.
