Matt O’Riley admits the quality of his team-mates has made adapting to life at Celtic a smooth process but the midfielder felt he needed to score to truly settle down.
The former MK Dons midfielder produced his first goal for Celtic during Wednesday’s 3-2 win at Aberdeen.
The 21-year-old has also delivered three assists in his first five matches but was particularly happy to find the net.
“Obviously I am delighted,” he said. “I missed one chance against Dundee United which was a really good chance which was playing at the back of my mind a little bit.
“So I said before the game that I could do with scoring just for my own head and fortunately it happened.
“It was amazing, it was also in front of the fans which always makes it better.”
When asked how he had settled in, O’Riley said: “I feel good. I said when I came that I find it easier to play with better players in that sense.
“I know when they want the ball and when they are going to give me the ball so in that sense I found it easier to adapt.
“Some of the opposition are obviously tougher than in League One at times, like Rangers for example, but when you have good players around you it makes it easy.
“And off the pitch as well, everyone is just genuinely really nice people, which has made it really easy for me.
“The first game against Hearts I was a bit more nervous, just because it was my first game for a new club, but once the game starts I feel fine, I feel more than ready to contribute and obviously the more games you play the more confident you feel, and I feel really good at the moment.”
O’Riley has also been helped by the positive reaction of the Celtic supporters to his performances.
“It is not necessarily easy to settle in quickly at a club like Celtic so I am really happy with the way it is going and obviously support from fans is always nice and so I am very grateful for that,” he said.
