McGeady: Trap has been great for me

AIDEN McGEADY insists that Giovanni Trapattoni is not suspicious of flair players but says he understands why the Ireland manager wants him to be more “disciplined” when it comes to defensive duties.

Currently on a winter break from the league season in Russia, the Spartak Moscow winger hailed the veteran Italian as a major influence on his development as a footballer.

“He watches everything, he takes everything in,” said McGeady. “When he talks, you listen. His English is not perfect but you almost lean forward to listen to what he is saying. He is really precise.

“He is not suspicious of flair players but he wants me to be disciplined. If a left-back is overlapping, I know exactly where the manager wants me to be. He has been brilliant for me. He concentrates on what you have done well even after a game when I feel I have not performed at my best.”

McGeady has also given a first-hand insight into precisely what the manager means when he talks about the need to pay attention to the “leetle details”.

“We constantly watch a piece of video that shows a team pressing strongly and the other side having eventually to kick the ball out of play,” he revealed.

“It may seem crazy to watch it so often but it is obvious what the manager is trying to do: he is showing us how we can frustrate and dispossess the other team.”

All of which will become even more important next summer when Ireland join battle in the European Championship finals with Spain, Italy and Croatia.

For McGeady, just getting to those finals is already a reward for the progress made by the team and by himself over the course of a long qualifying campaign.

“I read the statement from Trapattoni about me going to Russia to find myself as a player and a man and I feel it makes sense,” he said.

“As a player, it is the stuff of cliches to be going to an international championship as an integral part of the team. There is a wonderful feeling about going though the slog of qualifying matches and a play-off — all that playing and travelling — and reaching your goal.”

But McGeady went on to say that nobody should underestimate the Republic in Poland next June.

“We know what our strengths are,” he told the Glasgow Herald. “We are a really difficult team to beat. We have good players in every area of the park. Yeah, it is a tough group but do not expect us to lie down.”

Meanwhile, Aston Villa manager Alex McLeish confirmed his interest in signing Ireland skipper Robbie Keane on loan from LA Galaxy, putting the chances of it happening at “more than 50-50”.

But, with Keane only available until the MLS restarts in March, McLeish is aware a deal has to be done sooner rather than later.

“We are having a look at it with Robbie and trying to pursue it,” said the Villa boss. “That is the latest although nothing is done and dusted yet. If we don’t know by Monday, then it probably will not be done. That’s why I don’t want to say too much in case it doesn’t happen. But we are certainly pursuing it and both parties are keen.”