The thing Matt O'Riley enjoys most away from Celtic amid injury-ravaged Brighton debut season
O'Riley swapped the Hoops for the English south-coast last summer in a blockbuster £25million deal
Matt O'Riley says the challenge of coming up against top teams in the English Premier League on a weekly basis has been the most welcome change to his system since swapping Celtic for Brighton last summer.
The Seagulls splashed the cash to bring the Denmark international south of the border for £25million after two-and-a-half prolific seasons with the Hoops where he won six trophies and knocked up 27 goals and 35 assists in 124 games.
And the 24-year-old has now detailed the big differences between the top tier in England and the Scottish Premiership – insisting the version down south is more competitive.
Speaking to The Athletic, he said: "It’s a more competitive league than in Scotland.
"Every game poses a different challenge and that’s great. I really enjoy that because you need to find different solutions to be a team.
“We have often struggled against a low block (deep defence) this season. We created more than enough chances to win the game against Leicester.
"It wasn’t an issue of breaking down a low block. It was more a ruthless mindset to kill the game early but also not concede.
"I am enjoying being in the league. I am having a great time, but I still want to do better with the team."
Just nine minutes into his Brighton debut, O'Riley was sidelined with an ankle injury for nearly three months after getting crunched in a League Cup clash against Crawley Town.
The midfielder also missed a month of action in February with a knee problem suffered in a victory against Ipswich Town in January.
O'Riley has managed just one goal in his 17 appearances for Brighton so far - granted it came in a 2-1 win against Premier League champions Manchester City - and has revealed that playing through a pain barrier has stopped him from reaching his maximum level.
“That (injury) wasn’t the most frustrating one,", he added. "The most frustrating one was my knee recently after Ipswich (2-0 away win in January), because I was trying to train with it.
"But there was so much fluid in my knee every day — it was two months of not playing anywhere near my best capacity.
"The first injury I accepted. It was a long-term injury and I came back pretty strong and pretty healthy — whereas that one (knee) was more niggly.
"That has settled down and I am grateful for a bit of rhythm."