Matt O’Riley insists he KNEW Jack Butland was going to dive and that’s why he went for a Panenka against Rangers.
Showing nerves of steel on the biggest stage, the Celtic midfielder chipped his penalty down the middle in the last derby, which went on to be tied at 3-3. It’s one of those attempts that wins you praise when it goes in but if all goes wrong you’d be pilloried, which is why there was a sense of shock he went for it in a game with so much on the line.
But O’Riley insists he was certain the Gers keeper would dive one way or the other, leaving him safe to chip it down the middle. He admits it would’ve been a whole other narrative had he missed but says his head was clear stepping up and that certainly helped.
The PFA Player of the Year nominee said: “I was pretty set on doing that, to be honest. I was quite confident Jack Butland was going to dive, and fortunately he did. If he didn’t, it would have been a different story. The more noise you have in your head, the less it helps.
“And if I want to do the best job I can for Celtic I just need to focus on our targets. The Euros is a long way away and for me to hopefully get in the squad comes from me doing well here.
“So it’s a day at a time, focusing my attention on what I need to do here and not other stuff, basically.”
O’Riley is enjoying the pressure of the title run-in and can sense his manager Brendan Rodgers is too, with a fire in his belly evident.
He added: “You can tell he enjoys it. We get that feeling too.
“It’s fun when it’s close. I know what it’s like from a fans’ perspective, and I’d like it to be easy and 12 points clear.
“But when it’s close it brings out that extra fire and drive in everyone.”
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