Everything Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley said to Sky Sports, following Celtic’s 4-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle.
Callum, Matt, very well done. Matt, how do you sum that game up today?
MOR: It was tough, to be fair. Four goals is very impressive at a place like this, to be honest. We took our chances when they came, but I thought we could have got a few more in the second half if we were a little bit more ruthless. However, to get 4-1 away at a place like this is good, regardless.
I keep asking you, and you keep delivering. Talking about upping your numbers in terms of assists and goals. What has it been this season? Has it been down to you, or the manager and teammates?
MOR: I'm just getting lucky! Especially with my assist today, I've shot and skimmed it to Kyogo, so that’s a bit of luck I think. When you're in that open frame of mind, thinks kind of fall to you. I've probably just been getting in the box more, and when you do that you’re naturally going to score more goals.
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He's (O'Riley) trying to be a bit modest there. Tell us about what he’s been doing and just how much he’s improved?
CM: He’s been superb. You touched on it there, probably a little bit of luck. The sooner you get a goal you feel better about yourself. He came back in the summer in incredible condition. He clearly worked really hard over the summer, and he totally deserves his vein of form and goals/assists. He's such an important player for the team, he makes us tick in that first phase of the game and then he's joining in and getting goals, coming up with big goals/assists. He's a top player, and he keeps working.
Another man who is a top player and keeps working is Kyogo. 60 goals with that one today. Tell us about him and just how key he is.
CM: He’s incredible. I speak about it all the time about how important he is for the team. He scores in big moments, and his finishing – one-touch finishing – is probably as good as I've seen and played with, so he deserves all the goals he gets. Again, coming here – a difficult place – he gets us a big goal, just after half-time as well. Another really important player for us, and we just need to keep him fit and healthy, which is the main thing.
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The results are there, and the performances are there as well. How much more is there to come from this Celtic team?
CM: Yeah, I think Matt touched on it there as well. The good thing is it can be more if we tidy ourselves up more on the ball and when in transition we make better choices, then that could be five or six. We know there's room for improvement, we made the game a little bit more difficult than it should have been. We need to continue to work on that side of the game as well. A lot of positives, but we’re trying to improve and make small steps to get us to the next level.
Matt, how do you take this onto Europe midweek?
MOR: I think like we just said. The fact we made that amount of chances, we won't get as many in Europe, so it's about being ruthless. For example, in the Lazio game, we had an early chance and took it, then we had a few more that we didn’t take, so it's just all about being ruthless, whilst locking up the back door as well.
🗣️ [O'Riley] has totally deserved his run of form... [Kyogo's] one-touch finishing is probably as good as I've seen!
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) October 22, 2023
🗣️"You won't get that many chances in Europe, so it's about being ruthless"
Callum McGregor and Matt O'Riley speak after their 4-1 win over Hearts 👇 pic.twitter.com/JsEXsltmac
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