There is a lesson for us all in title winner Matt O’Riley’s inspiring journey of faith, perseverance and growth.

The extraordinary story of Matt O’Riley’s tortuous journey to the top – potentially set to enter a whole new chapter this summer after helping Celtic to their third successive title – is worth considering as a source of inspiration for anyone trying to do their best. path in the cutthroat world of football.

As a teenager at Fulham, he was watched by many clubs across Europe and could easily have signed the new three-year contract offered to him, aged 19, when his previous contract expired. He did not do it. He walked away because he didn’t see a path to the first team.

O’Riley spent lockdown in 2020 without a club, training in west London parks either himself or with his father. He accepted an offer to train with MK Dons and traveled the 140-mile round trip from his family home in Thames Ditton every day.

He saw a potential move to Belgian club KV Kortrijk fall through after a trial before agreeing terms at Milton Keynes and trying his luck in English League One. And now, a little over three years later, here it is.

Since joining Celtic for £1.5 million midway through Ange Postecoglou’s first season in charge, O’Riley’s progression has been rapid under the stewardship of the Australian and currently Brendan Rodgers.

Now 23, he has been one of the best players in the Parkhead team, winning the league title in each of his three seasons – winning the latest at Rugby Park this week – and has made the the subject of a £20 million bid from Atletico Madrid at the end of the year.

Midfielder O’Riley has become Celtic’s asset in recent seasons.

Jubilant O’Riley celebrates his triumph with teammate Joe Hart

Sure to spark renewed interest in the months to come, his personal development has ticked many boxes in terms of motivating players struggling to break through at the big clubs, where youngsters don’t always get the opportunity.

Believe in yourself. Make your dreams come true. Don’t make money, your god. Take a step back if necessary. Get games.

With O’Riley, you feel like there’s so much more going on beneath the surface. Deeper things that can apply outside of the insular worlds of professional sports. To all of us, whatever our age or stage of life.

They focus on walking at your own pace, pursuing the things you love and finding ways to continue to thrive when times are tough, overcoming disappointment, tackling what’s holding you back , to help others and to remain open to being helped. yourself. And perhaps most importantly, especially in the case of younger men, talking to the right people when it all gets a little overwhelming.

O’Riley, in explaining the reasons for the increased consistency in his game, spoke about the meditation he engages in and the regular Zoom calls he makes to a friend and life coach based in India.

‘Dish’ was working as a trainee at Fulham during O’Riley’s time at Craven Cottage. “I immediately formed a relationship with him because I felt like he really wanted to help me,” O’Riley said. “I didn’t necessarily get that feeling from everyone there.”

O’Riley scored twice against Kilmarnock in a 5-0 win at Rugby Park

O’Riley is congratulated by Greg Taylor after his double against Kilmarnock

Denmark international O’Riley does stretching routine ahead of Kilmarnock match

It was fascinating to hear what his friend was actually telling him.

“I work a lot with him to talk about things that have perhaps stayed with me for a long time,” said the midfielder. “(Things) I may not have had, not necessarily the courage to talk about it, but the knowledge to understand how to talk about it. It helped me a lot and it helped me become a person more balanced overall.

Football is a difficult environment. The situation is improving, but young people living there still feel that conforming to stereotypes is an easier choice. Individualism is not always encouraged.

With the levels of pressure and expectations that exist, it can be a difficult testing ground. The fact that O’Riley is confident enough to admit that he uses such new age approaches is to be applauded. The fact that he was perceptive enough to face the obstacles that prevent him from getting where he wants to go is incredible.

Dealing with inner demons is challenging and complex. O’Riley, himself, admits that getting into that mindset, that mindset that brought him to the brink of takeoff, took him a good few years of hard work. Something about him also tells you that he will likely remain a work in progress.

Almost everyone who talks about O’Riley mentions his deep and unending love for football. He spoke not long ago of his desire to retain “the youthful, childish game” he had on the field at the age of 14, speaking freely, appreciating football for what it is and should be.

He admits that it doesn’t all come from within. This meant accepting help and advice from others when things got a little difficult.

He says the boost others have given him in the past now drives him to offer encouragement and support to his colleagues and teammates.

Without Russell Martin, the former Rangers player, O’Riley might not be where he is today: playing international football for Denmark and preparing to enter the arena of the real, authentic elite.

Martin, who was then managing MK Dons, received a call from an agent in 2020 to let him know that O’Riley – being monitored by Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Juventus, Borussia Dortmund and all sorts as as a boy – was looking for a place to train. The invitation he extended led to a contract and a real change in the way O’Riley interacted with the game.

“From day one, they’ve always been very nice to me,” O’Riley said in an interview with The Athletic at the time. “Just a lot of praise, which I wasn’t really used to. It was nice to feel wanted.

“I’ve never really had a relationship with a manager who spoke to me regularly about how he feels about me, telling me what I can and can’t do.”

O’Riley is an advertisement for self-help, but serves as proof of what can happen when people are willing to reach out to others, accept kindness in their own lives, and talk about their fears and insecurities with those they trust, to rationalize and rationalize them. form them into an action plan.

O’Riley has followed his own path to the top, from Fulham to Celtic and potentially beyond.

This arguably served him well when his form dipped midway through this season, at a time when Atletico’s interest gathered pace but was ultimately rejected.

O’Riley returned to become one of Celtic’s most influential performers and their most valuable asset.

Having since admitted he would be better equipped to deal with transfer speculation in the future, he frankly deserves whatever comes his way.

*A version of this story first appeared in the Mail on Sunday in January