Aiden McGeady on O'Neill, Larsson and Tommy Burns' advice
The former Celtic winger recalls breaking into Martin O'Neill's side, his winner against Benfica and the words from Tommy Burns that stayed with him.
By PLZ Soccer,
Aiden McGeady has described what it was like to break into Martin O'Neill's Celtic, in an interview with Peter Martin on Straight Talk that was first published in August 2023.
McGeady looked back on a dressing room that included Larsson, Sutton, Thompson, Petrov and Lambert. His summary of that group was simple: "Like men, like real men".
O'Neill the motivator
McGeady said O'Neill was hands-off day to day, leaving training to his coaches Steve Walford and John Robertson. Where the manager made his mark was as a motivator. According to McGeady, O'Neill "managed the dressing room really well", and he was clear that it was not a job just anyone could have done: "Other managers would struggle to manage that dressing room."
He also went through the other managers he played under. They included Gordon Strachan at Celtic, Giovanni Trapattoni with Ireland, Roberto Martinez and Unai Emery. He also discussed Valery Karpin, who signed him for Spartak Moscow. McGeady's description of Karpin was "old school Russian dictator".
The interview also covered the 2004/05 season and his PFA Scotland double, when he was named both Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.
The Benfica night
The game that made his name at Celtic was the 1-0 win over Benfica in the Champions League at Celtic Park on 6 November 2007. McGeady scored the only goal, though he admitted "It took a deflection". Afterwards he heard on Super Scoreboard that he was "worth 10, 15 million".
Tommy Burns' advice
McGeady also recalled advice from Tommy Burns. It came after a half in which he had been tackled again and again. Burns told him: "No one else in this team can do what you can do."
For a young player in a side full of established names, that backing from Burns stands alongside the Benfica goal as one of the moments McGeady picked out from his time at Celtic.