Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley has been criticised for his recent performances by former player-turned-pundit Frank McAvennie.
Despite a storming start to the season, the Denmark internationalist’s form has taken a turn for the worst over the past few games. Much like his teammates, O’Riley has been off the boil of late.
Celtic’s Matt O’Riley in action with Feyenoord’s Quinten Timber REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw
He is still the Hoops’ leading goalscorer for the current campaign, but there is no denying that his performances have dipped recently.
McAvennie has noticed this, and he hit out with criticism for the 23-year-old on Monday: “Matt O’Riley’s not kicked a ball for the last couple of weeks”, he said (PLZ Soccer).
“He’s a wonderful talent but sometimes I think Matt wants to play centre-forward.
“You’re a midfield player. Get back in, and help your team because sometimes when they lose there’s nobody at the first line of defence. There’s no one sitting and maybe Matt can do that wee bit more.”
Along with McAvennie, a lot of Celtic supporters have noticed O’Riley’s recent decline. Throughout the season, he has proved to be a bright spark for The Bhoys but he hasn’t of late.
It is tough to keep up performances of the level he was churning out previously throughout a whole campaign, but how he has fallen off has raised concerns.
O’Riley had concrete links to Spanish and European giants Atletico Madrid at one point earlier in the campaign but based on current evidence, few clubs would be sniffing around him.
