Matt O’Riley has Ange Postecoglou for football but when it comes to matters of the mind he has his own life coach.
The Celtic star revealed he makes regular Zoom calls to India to make sure he is on top of his mental well-being. The way the 21-year-old hit the ground running at Celtic Park and what he has achieved since his January move might have blown a lot of people’s minds - but not O’Riley! The Danish under-21 international admitted his regular sessions help him get zoned in and to hit the ground running with champions Celtic.
O’Riley explained: “I try to welcome that quite a lot to be fair. “I have my own coach who I like working with. Not just stuff on the pitch but also things on my general well-being because I think that helps a lot, as a player and a person. Hopefully, that shows by the way I play as well.”
O’Riley admitted his relationship with his mind coach started off as a simple friendship when they worked together at Fulham. He said: “He lives in India actually. I met him at Fulham about four years ago just as a friend. He has now become a coach as well and I think it helps that he is also a friend as well. Maybe if he was just a coach I wouldn’t have that same connection.
“He was studying at university in England and he was an intern at Fulham. I immediately built up a relationship with him because I felt he really wanted to help me. I didn’t necessarily get the same feeling off everyone else there. If I was looking to do a bit more in the gym or elsewhere then he was the one who I really took to.
“From the off we were very good friends and four years down the line we are doing Zoom calls a few days a week just to keep in touch, to keep things ticking over. Hopefully, I can get him over in the near future which would be cool.”
The former MK Dons player very much falls into the mindset of healthy body and healthy mind. Even when he doesn’t get time for face-to-face calls, like during their current pre-season camp in the remote Austrian village of Bad Erlach, he uses breathing techniques and meditation to keep himself in a good place. “In football it is hard to open up sometimes because you are under so much stress and pressure,” O’Riley acknowledged.
“So it is good to have a person you can go to and tell how you are feeling. If something with my football is not good or in my personal life then I can speak about it and it helps me to keep quite a steady, level head.
“Stuff like meditation I do quite a lot to make sure my mind is in a good place on the pitch. I try to do something most days but the schedule out here is pretty hectic out here. Even if it is just a simple breathing exercise I just try and do something.”
There used to be a time in football and in life when talking about mental health was simply taboo. O’Riley reckons the game is changing on that front and for the better. There is also the point that why would you pay big money for a player and then not make sure they are in the right place to perform to their optimum on the pitch?
O’Riley refreshingly said: “I am very open about it and I think it is the most disappointing aspect of football. You can see if a player is not playing with confidence or a level-head on the pitch then it shows. There are so many cases where a player has been on fire and then a few weeks later they are struggling.
“It is probably down to their mind telling them the wrong thing. I think it is the most powerful thing and that is why I try and really work on it consciously.”
It also gives the Londoner the capacity to grow and think even bigger. With a Scottish Premiership crown to defend and a Champions League assault then O’Riley knows last season could only be the tip of the iceberg. O’Riley stated: “I am not afraid to dream as big as I can. I can aim as high as I possibly can and that is what I will do. With the manager and the culture of the club it means you will always be striving to get better.”
It is a similar motto from Postecoglou and Celtic: We. Never. Stop. That remains the case.
O’Riley and a lot of the Celtic players who were away on international duty are likely to get their first taste of pre-season action against Rapid Vienna this afternoon in the Allianz Stadium. O’Riley only got a couple of weeks rest but it was more than enough to help him recharge physically and mentally.
“I got just over two weeks off, which was enough to switch off for a bit. It was nice to get away to Marbella for a week. I haven’t missed much football so from a fitness perspective I actually feel quite good. You don’t lose much over two weeks so I feel pretty sharp.”
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