Matt O’Riley has been quite a revelation since arriving at Celtic in the January transfer window from League One side, MK Dons. The Hoops had originally been linked with a move for Riley McGree but decided to go for the former Fulham players instead, after the Australian ended up joining Middlesbrough.

There were not a lot o high hopes from O’Riley when he first set foot at Parkhead. While he had always been a very highly rated player, at the end of the day, he was coming from the third division of English football and was seen as more of a project signing than anything else.

He has come in and immediately made his mark in the first-team picture though, competing with Tom Rogic for first-team minutes and looks like a future Celtic star. Thus, the decision to sign the youngster from MK Dons is already looking like an inspired one.

O’Riley scored the goal against Hearts this weekend that made it 3-1 and put the game to bed. He missed a few chances before that though and admitted that he was a little frustrated before finding the back of the net. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, the midfielder told Celtic TV:

“I think personally I missed a couple of chances earlier as well. I was a little bit frustrated about that. I thought I had to score that one to put it right. So I was just as relieved as everyone else when that went in.”

Celtic star makes admission about frustration in Hearts game

That just goes on to show the top mentality that O’Riley has and what he demands of himself as a player. That can only be a good thing moving forward.

Rogic has done a wonderful job this season but it is great to have someone who can push him for the starting spot. Competition is always good in a team like Celtic.