Matt O'Riley has opened up about a surreal encounter he had with Celtic fans while viewing flats.

The 22-year-old midfielder revealed that even in the very early days of his time with the club he was popular with fans.

Around the time he signed a four-and-a-half-year deal in January 2022, O'Riley was looking at potential homes in the West End when a group of men 'sprinted' towards him.

He admitted the experience opened his eyes to the significance of playing for Celtic and had him both panicking while also thinking it was 'cool'. 

Speaking on the Celtic FC podcast, he said: "I mean, the first day I signed I was viewing apartments around the West End and I don't even think I was announced officially.

"Five builders were up the road, maybe a good 50, 60, metres away and they recognised me instantly and I see five grown men sprinting at me, thinking 'this is a new experience', you know, partly inside absolute panic stations and I think 'what is happening?'

"And the other part of me was like, 'this is really cool'. 

"And that was when I kind of realised, okay, I'm at quite a big club here you know, it's a very different environment.

"Quite cool though, the fact when you do go out you get recognised.

"I've never really had any bad experiences, especially from home fans, obviously. So that was my first experience."