Brendan Rodgers hails Celtic star for doing something rest of the team hasn’t managed

Brendan Rodgers has hailed Matt O’Riley as the constant force behind Celtic’s charge towards the title.

The playmaker cleaned up at the Hoops glitzy awards bash at the Hydro in Glasgow on Sunday night, scooping fans’, players’ player and young player of the year. The 23-year-old has scored 16 goals and contributed 17 assists in a sparking campaign as the Parkhead men close in on making it three-in-a-row.

O’Riley produced another sensational display in the crucial weekend win against Rangers that’s left Rodgers’s men needing just a point at Rugby Park on Wednesday to wrap the green and white ribbons on the Premiership trophy. And the boss hailed the £1.5m steal from MK Dons as one of his main men over a year of ups and downs.

Rodgers said: “He’s been absolutely phenomenal in his consistency. I think if we’ve lacked anything as a team, it’s probably that. From an individual perspective, if look at his goal return, someone said to me he scored his first goal for the club last January, to see his numbers now is a huge testament to himself.

“The work he puts in, the focus every single day in training to improve and be better, has clearly been rewarded by his teammates and everyone else. It’s very well deserved.”

Celtic knocked back a cheeky January bid for O’Riley from Atletico Madrid, with the La Liga big guns chancing their arm with a loan-with-intent-to-buy offer of around £18m. The Spaniards are understood to be still keen but the midfielder has also been watched by several sides across Europe including Inter Milan and clubs in Germany.

Celts will face an inevitable fight to hold on to their top asset in the summer but Rodgers is convinced the sky is the limit for the Denmark cap. He said: “Matt is 23-years-old. If he