Matt O'Riley on the 'selfish' Celtic demand transforming his game as he reveals how things are clicking under Rodgers

Matt O'Riley is backing David Turnbull to be a big influence for Celtic this term under Brendan Rodgers.

But, although he got more joy from helping his mate steal the day-one scoring show than opening his own seasonal account, the selfless star admits he may need to be more selfish in the future. Turnbull impressed Rodgers during the pre-season with his performances and was rewarded with a flag-day start against Ross County.

The 24-year-old repaid the gaffer’s faith with a penalty and a half-volley in the first half of the 4-2 triumph. Turnbull has a year left on his contract and Rodgers says the Scotland star’s future is in his own hands. Having been sidelined for long spells by Ange Postecoglou, the ex-Motherwell man looked to be heading away from Celtic.

But Turnbull has the backing of his new boss and O’Riley has no doubts he can build upon that to be a crucial contributor for Rodgers. He said: “I think he can be a big player for us this season. People can say what they want, that they don’t care about praise from people.

“But, when it comes from the manager, it’s very important because it shows that he does believe in you and has trust in you. When you know that it frees you up to go on the pitch and express yourself. I think we have seen that in the last couple of games.

“He just has a calmness in his game, he is a very good finisher and gets himself into positions to score. That’s important. I’m really happy for him because he didn’t play as much football as he would have liked last season and we know how good he is.

“Hopefully he gets some games under his belt now and starts to build on that. He is a major goal threat any time he plays now. Outside the box, he gives us a different element where he is very