McGeady loving Mowbray regime

IT looks like there’s quite a mutual appreciation society brewing between Celtic manager Tony Mowbray and his Republic of Ireland winger Aiden McGeady.

The new boss at Parkhead has been quick to pinpoint McGeady as a player around whose dazzling dribbling skills he is prepared to build his team.

And the more the former West Brom manager sees of the player, the more he waxes lyrical.

“I don’t think great player is too strong a description for Aiden McGeady,” Mowbray said this week. “He is an exceptional talent. I’ve never seen quicker feet in a footballer and there is no point in me caging that up. I have to let him go and express himself on a football field. And I will structure the team around that fact.

“At West Brom last season we felt the strength and power of (Wayne) Rooney, (Carlos) Tevez, (Fernando) Torres, the great players. And I just think that, one on one, Aiden McGeady, against anybody, is capable of causing them a problem.

“You just have to get him in the right areas of the pitch to do that. You have to give him the confidence and belief that he can go past people, jink inside, come back, leave people on their backsides. And I know he can do that because I have seen it.”

Little wonder that, after training with his Irish squad mates in Tipperary yesterday, McGeady had a smile on his face as he reflected on the new regime in place at Celtic Park.

The 23-year-old might have had his well-documented problems with previous gaffer Gordon Strachan but, at this admittedly early point in the season, McGeady is clearly delighted with the way things are going under the new man.

“I was pleased when I heard he was coming because I know that his teams always try to play football,” he said.

“We used to play against his teams when he was the Hibs’ boss and they were always a very good footballing team. They tried to keep the ball, play it on the deck and play football the right way.

“Since he has come in, he has sort of been a breath of fresh air for the coaching staff, and it’s obviously a different set up now. Things have been going well so far, we’re playing good football and getting results as well.

“And, yes, it’s different for me. I was sort of used to being a winger on the touchline. Now, since the new manager has come in, he has told me to come inside more and asked me to play in the middle. That suits me as I have always wanted to do that. I’ve played there in training and I was up for the challenge whenever it came. Obviously the manager is showing good faith in me now.”

McGeady understands the situation is quite a bit different at international level but, even though he finds himself in a direct battle with Stephen Hunt for a starting berth under Giovanni Trapattoni, he has no complaints about doing whatever is required to secure a place under the more defensively-minded Italian.

“My role for Ireland is definitely laid down by the manager,” he conceded, “and it’s totally different to what I do at Celtic. But the main thing is just to be playing and winning. I’m looking forward to the World Cup qualifiers and qualifying for the World Cup.”

McGeady can also look forward to a huge game at club level, a meeting with Arsenal in the Champions’ League being Celtic’s reward for their heroics in eliminating Dinamo Moscow.

“It’s a massive game for us and we know that we will be underdogs,” McGeady acknowledged.

“They will be the favourites and it’s the hardest draw we could have got. In the draw Arsenal are probably the only team that have a genuine chance of winning the Champions’ League – and we got them in a qualifier. Are they vulnerable? No, I wouldn’t say that – Arsenal are still a very good football team. I can imagine what it’s like to play against them, they like to keep the ball. So it will be a massive, massive game but we’ve got the first leg at home so we’ve got a good chance.”

McGEADY took something of a scenic route to join up with the Irish squad in Tipperary this week, a missed flight meaning that he had to fly to Galway before taking a two-hour drive down to the team hotel.

But that could stand as a metaphor for the hunger now rampant in the squad to be a part of project Trap as the critical stage of World Cup qualification looms.

“If we do qualify then everybody will want to play their part in the squad for South Africa,” McGeady observed.

“Australia is the first game of the season and everybody is looking forward to that and wants to be in top condition. As for qualification, you don’t want to get ahead of yourself. At the moment the main thing is to pick up as many points as possible and finish in second place – or first.”

The point is echoed by Liam Lawrence, another wide man hoping to take advantage of tomorrow’s friendly to make an impression on Giovanni Trapattoni.

“He (Trapattoni) spoke to me before the Bulgaria game and just told me I wasn’t involved but said to me that, for the game in August, I want you to come back so he could have a look again. Hopefully I can get a chance to stake a claim,” said the Stoke City man. “But there are some fantastic players playing at the highest level. Aiden is playing Champions League and with Celtic up in Scotland, and he is a class act; (Damien) Duff has obviously been there for years and he’s flying. It’s just about getting that chance and not messing it up when I get it.

“Only one person can do that and that’s me.”