Although he’s only been contracted at Stadium MK since January – Matt O’Riley feels right at home at MK1.
O’Riley has slotted in effortlessly into the MK Dons side with the midfielder netting twice in seven Sky Bet League One games since his arrival.
The 20-year-old noted how even when he was just training with Russell Martin’s side he felt part of the club and the togetherness and comradery at Stadium MK helped sway his decision to sign permanently.
“I said right from day one I felt right at home,” Matt told the local media. “I was just a player who came into training and from the off both the staff and players made me feel welcome. From that moment forward I enjoyed it more and more.”
“When I played that first game it didn’t feel as natural as I thought it would, to be honest, it was like 10-months between my games. I didn’t feel my best to be honest but I coped okay which was pleasing.
“Since that first game, I think I’ve been pretty good. I feel sharp, I feel I’m getting fitter with every game, and I’m happy with how I’ve performed. From a team perspective, we’ve won a lot of games and that’s positive.”
Russell Martin’s suffered just their second defeat in eight games, and O’Riley knows Tuesday’s performance was an uncharacteristic one for the Dons. With emotions high following the defeat, the midfielder says the following day they dissected the defeat and moved on.
“We do talk as players, we have a negative feeling after which is going to happen so it’s hard to speak logically. The next day we have a real think about what we’ve done wrong. We have unit meetings to talk about what we can improve upon and that’s the everyday life here to look at where we can get better.”
O’Riley took the time to praise the togetherness at Stadium MK – and praised his teammates for building such a strong bond on and off the pitch."
"I think even little things like celebrating goals we are all together and that’s really important to make sure we are on the same wavelength both on and off the pitch. I was speaking to Griggy and we were talking about how good the team spirit here is throughout the whole club from the staff and the players.
"We all know each other well as players and as people and that’s so important to build togetherness."
