Everything Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley said to the media ahead of the game against Motherwell on Saturday afternoon...

Matt, you’ll have happy memories of this fixture?

Yeah, that was fun. It’s a new game on Saturday though so I’ll try and put that one behind me. If I do look back to that game then it’s fond memories.

It was a big moment in that game?

Yeah, it was pretty needed. You don’t usually expect to win games when you concede in the 95th minute or whatever it was. It was one of those ones where you think you might get one more chance and we did.

It was a big week for you during the week, playing for Denmark. How proud a moment was that for you?

Yeah, it was nice. Your first cap is obviously a good moment, albeit it wasn’t our best performance. At the same time, you’re still playing for your country so it was a proud moment for me and my family also.

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Were your family there?

Yeah, they were there. Mum, Dad, Girlfriend and agent/friend kind of thing! 

Does that give you a big target with the Euros in the summer?

Yeah of course. It was always a target anyway. It’s something I try and not think about too much  on a regular basis, just more of a case of daily processes here. Boring day-to-day stuff, but that usually gets you to where you want to get to.

Is that your thinking? If you keep on performing for your club then you’ll get rewarded hopefully for your country?

Usually that’s how it works, doesn’t it? I think that’s what got me there in the first place. I try to keep improving as a player.

What did you learn from your first cap?

It was a new experience, with new players and teammates, and that’s always challenging because it’s a new environment with new people. It takes a bit of time to adapt naturally but I found it relatively easy because they’re really nice people. First few days you’re a little nervous just getting into it but after that I was fine.

Quite difficult to go into a new environment and then perform straight away as well?

It’s not something I’ve given too much thought to. Im just playing football at the end of the day, and I think if I’m playing with good players and playing under a good manager then it shouldn’t really be a problem to play well. I was disappointed with how the result was etc, and I was hard on myself after the game because you naturally are when you lose but at the same time I received some nice feedback from people regardless which was nice.

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It must be difficult to play that game, your first cap and a new experience and then it’s five months till the next one. Does that mean you have to park it as well?

Yeah obviously. Four or five months until the next camp so a lot of football is to be played for the club before then, and a lot of things can happen in terms of good performances so I’ll try and do my best.

You talk about the feedback as well. Is that insurance that they’ll be watching you for the next few months?

People will watch Celtic regardless because they’re a big club. I’m in the mix now which is nice, so it’s just about trying to keep improving.

How happy have you been with your own performances this season?

I feel good. I feel stronger physically and mentally which is progress. I try and look at it from that perspective. As long as I’m improving naturally you’re heading in the right direction. I feel that I have improved a lot this season in various aspects which is positive.

At the start of the season the manager wanted you to improve your goals. You’ve certainly done that this season. What’s changed on that front?

A clearer mind, first and foremost. Im more open when I’m on the pitch. Secondly, I’m continuously getting into the right positions to score and then taking a little bit of pressure off of myself and not expecting myself to score every game. Im just going into games trying to do my best for the team and naturally you get your outcomes.

Working with Brendan (Rodgers) on the training ground, has that helped?

Yes, I work a lot with Gavin Strachan in terms of clips after games and things we can do better. The big thing for me is just being in the best frame of mind in my head. Most people will say when you feel good in your head and mind it naturally translates onto the pitch. That’s something I try and give a lot of attention to on a daily basis.

What kind of things do you do to help that focus?

Loads! I meditate a lot, I speak with my friend/life coach who lives in India regularly. I work a lot with him in terms of speaking about things which I’ve kept inside me for a long time. I might have not necessarily had the courage to speak about but the knowledge to understand how to speak about it with somebody, so that’s helped me loads. That’s allowed me to be probably more of a well-rounded person. I’m more confident and open to speak to people in general as a result of that. All of that as a collective has helped me stay consistently in a good frame of mind.

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You mentioned not putting too much pressure to score every game. Is that something you did?

Yeah definitely, I think you have to go through experiences when they come. I couldn’t have done it any differently than I did. I had to go through the phase where I didn’t score for a long time to know how to take that pressure the next time. It’s all a learning process, and naturally, there’s going to be times that are tough and challenging, but I think if you can embrace those in the right way and look at them from a point of curiosity and learning then you can always get to a better place.

Going back to Motherwell, was a few months ago an indication of the sort of opponents they could be come Saturday?

They were good in that game when we played them last. I was impressed with them. They tried to play quite a bit as well, credit to them. It would be a crime not to play football on their pitch though, because their pitch is very nice. I thought they were good and it’s going to be a tough game, but every game is tough and poses a different challenge each week. In Scotland some teams want to go man for man and others want to play five and shut up shop so there’s always a challenge. I respect all the different ways of playing.