McGeady claims Keane already making plans for life in Scotland

Aiden McGeady has backed Roy Keane to win over any doubters at Celtic and claims the Corkman is already planning his living arrangements in Scotland.

While former Celt McGeady insists there was no definitive swansong from the Ireland assistant manager following Saturday’s scoreless draw against Italy, he’s sure Keane will be a hit in Scotland if he steps into Neil Lennon’s shoes.

“It’ll be a tough job for him but he certainly has the quality to go there and do well,” said the Everton winger.

“It’s being viewed positively at Celtic. It’s one of those situations where people feel as though he’ll do well.

“I think he’ll be hungry to get back to being a head coach. After being out of management for a couple of years now, maybe he’s mellowed a little bit.

“Going from what I’ve seen from him being in and around us, that’s the impression I have. He won’t take any crap off the media up there either, which is good.

“I’ve asked him a couple of times if he’s going but he’s not the type who gives much away. But he’ll cope with it (the job). There isn’t a doubt about that because he’s got the quality and the pedigree.”

McGeady claims that Keane’s preference is to set up home away from Glasgow, just like he did during his brief spell with the Bhoys as a player in 2006.

“Roy said that he’d probably stay in Edinburgh if it happens,” said the Glaswegian.

“He’s one of those who doesn’t like the limelight that much. I doubt you’d see him walking down through the city centre in Glasgow.

“It’s better to be a little bit out of the way and staying somewhere like Edinburgh does make sense if that’s what you want. It’s only an hour away from Glasgow after all.”

Whether Keane departs or not, this current Ireland squad is progressing well under the guidance of Martin O’Neill, according to McGeady.

Saturday’s performance against the Italians, laced with energy, dash and vibrancy, may not have accrued victory but O’Neill’s selection proved they could match one of Europe’s leading nations.

“We’re disappointed with the result because we had more clear-cut chances and hit the crossbar towards the end,” McGeady said.

“If we’d stuck one or two away it’s a brilliant result but 0-0 against Italy isn’t a bad outcome.

“Italy are a quality team and you have to give them respect. You can’t get in their faces; otherwise they’ll just pop the ball around you. I’d say it was our best performance in a while.”

After two of his better displays of an erratic international career against Turkey and Italy, McGeady has no intention of skipping this week’s trip to America for the final friendlies against Costa Rica and Portugal.

He said: “I’m going at the minute. When the manager rang me a few weeks back and asked me if I’d be available for all the games, I said I would. I don’t know if Roy will go — you (the media) probably know more than me.”

Meanwhile, after completing the Italian job in style, Alex Pearce hopes he’s convinced Martin O’Neill of his credentials. The Reading defender was kept busy by the World Cup bound Azzurri at Craven Cottage but dealt admirably with their threat.

He’s still a long way off cementing a place in central-defence for the Euro 2016 qualifiers yet reckons he’s at least given O’Neill food for thought.

“You just go and give the best performance you can,” he said.

“I did my job, as did the team. It was very tough out there. We had to be on our toes because Italy were playing nice football — nice and easy — and then suddenly they sprung into life by running behind you. We had to be aware of that but wehandled them well and got a clean sheet.”