Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley has explained why tennis star Novak Djokovic and NBA hero LeBron James are two of the athletes he admires most in professional sports.
The 22-year-old, who has provided 10 assists for the Scottish champions this season, pinpointed both men's mental strength as one of the reasons they have been successful in their respective fields.
And the former Fulham playmaker has detailed why he finds each of them inspirational.
He said: "Novak Djokovic is someone I really enjoy hearing speak. He speaks a lot about mindfulness.
“He’s been so many match points down but he just seems to look the same all the time.
“I think it comes from the number of times he’s been in those big situations. The top athletes are very good at that.
"LeBron James is another who is always very focused and stays as present as he can. If he’s not then it’ll distract him from what he needs to do.”
READ MORE: How Giorgos Giakoumakis should be remembered at Celtic
Since arriving in January 2022 O'Riley has netted four times for the Hoops and played a significant role in Ange Postecoglou's side winning the league last season.
And the midfielder has also spoken about the pressure of playing for the Parkhead side.
"When I started playing at Celtic and the fans were pretty much 60,000 every week, I wasn’t used to it," he continued.
“When you missed a pass you heard the whole crowd go, ‘Arrrggggh’. You can sense the anxiety.
“I can’t control the fans. But if I see it from the point of view of, ‘Matt, all you can do is play the game’, I’m usually better for it. That helps.”
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