Matt O'Riley 'misses' Celtic as Brighton's £30m man recalls 'unimaginable' experience

Matt O'Riley climbed off the bench to score the winner against Man City on his Premier League debut.

But Brighton's £30million man admits he STILL misses life at Celtic. O'Riley capped a dream return from injury for the Seagulls at the weekend by netting the goal that condemned Pep Guardiola's superstars to a fourth successive defeat. Competing against Europe's elite every week is why O'Riley decided to call time on his trophy-laden two-and-a-half years in Glasgow in the summer.

And while the Denmark international has set his sights on making his mark in England after a nasty injury stunted his start at the Amex, the 23-year-old insists nothing will compare to the pressures of playing for the Hoops. So much so the playmaker works with a life coach to help improve his mental strength.

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In an interview with Brighton's official podcast, he said: "Respectfully, the pressures of playing at Celtic are for most people unimaginable. It is not easy to win every game of football regardless of who you are playing against. If you have got 11 men behind the ball who are well organised sometimes it is difficult to score.

"The longer the game goes on, the anxiety bulids up in the crowd. And you just need to learn to be able to accept that but also just somehow block it out and stay focused. To do that every single game is really tiring, you know - mentally and physically - to sustain it as well.

"Anyone who is able to play at Celtic for a long time, like James Forrest and Callum McGregor, to have that kind of relentless mentality .. it is genuinely tiring. I have so much respect for them to do it over and over again, 60 games a season."

He said: "Of course [I could block it out] but I was also aware that whatever I did on the pitch contributed to so many fans' happiness, you know. They are so mad up there. To the point that I know when they're at their daily jobs they are having banter with their Rangers pals all week if the result isn't good.

"I think for me as a player in terms of preparation to go somewhere else it is perfect just because the demand is so high. I really enjoyed the pressure of it, though, the responsibility of it. You really test your limits every single week, you've got to do it again and again and be better.

"If you don't then they'll let you know about it, the fans. It is only because they care so much. In that sense, that is why you don't take it personally. They just care about their team doing well. "

Asked if he missed Glasgow, he said: "Yeah, a little bit. I miss the people, I think the people are really friendly up there, I grew up down south in London so I know what the people are like but people up north are super friendy which is quite nice."