Celtic star Matt O’Riley has now revealed that he uses Novak Djokovic and LeBron James as inspiration. He believes the tennis and basketball legends can boost his Parkhead hopes.
The midfielder admires how Djokovic and James deal with big moments in their respective sports. Now, O’Riley tries to adopt similar mental techniques to improve his performances at Celtic. And, most of all, he feels the methods help him cope with 60,000 fans each week.
O’Riley initially felt the anxiety around a packed Parkhead following his £1.5m transfer from MK Dons in January 2022. TransferMarkt registered an average of 9,255 fans for The Dons’ League One fixtures during the 2021/22 season. It was the highest since 2016/17’s 10,307.
But through using Djokovic and James for inspiration on mental techniques to focus on his game, O’Riley believes his performances at Celtic improved. The 22-year-old ended his first season in Glasgow with four goals and two assists from 20 appearances in all competitions.
O’Riley also has 10 assists through 34 appearances so far this term with each coming in 25 Premiership outings. The former England and Denmark youth international has registered six of his assists this season at Parkhead. He also penned two in a 4-0 win against Rangers.
Celtic star O’Riley opens up on using Djokovic and James as inspiration
Now, O’Riley has revealed why the Celtic star views tennis legend Djokovic and basketball icon James as inspiration. Djokovic is the joint-most successful male Grand Slam champion of all time with Rafael Nadal with 22 titles. He has won a record 10 Australian Open titles.
James, meanwhile, set the NBA’s all-time scoring record with a career total of 38,390 this week. The 38-year-old overtook Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s long-standing record of 38,387 set in 1989. The LA Lakers star required 36 points against Oklahoma City Thunder and hit 38.
“Novak Djokovic is someone I really enjoy hearing speak,” O’Riley told The Scottish Sun. “He speaks a lot about mindfulness. He’s been so many match points down but he just seems to look the same all the time.
“I think it comes from the number of times he’s been in those big situations. The top athletes are very good at that. LeBron James is another who is always very focused and stays as present as he can. If he’s not then it’ll distract him from what he needs to do.”
O’Riley explains how mental techniques have helped him to settle in at Parkhead
O’Riley added: “When I started playing at Celtic and the fans were pretty much 60,000 every week, I wasn’t used to it. When you missed a pass you heard the whole crowd go, ‘Arrrggggh’. You can sense the anxiety.
“I can’t control the fans. But if I see it from the point of view of, ‘Matt, all you can do is play the game’, I’m usually better for it. That helps.”
O’Riley joined Celtic in 2022 having only spent one year with MK Dons following his release by Fulham. The midfielder caught Ange Postecoglou’s attention with his efforts at Stadium MK. He scored 10 and assisted eight goals in 54 games for the club across all competitions.
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