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The Football Show · 30 October 2026
What was it like breaking into Martin O'Neill's Celtic? Aiden McGeady tells Peter Martin on Straight Talk (first published in August 2023). The managers he played under: Giovanni Trapattoni with Ireland, Martin O'Neill and Gordon Strachan at Celtic, Roberto Martinez and Unai Emery, and Valery Karpin, who signed him for Spartak Moscow ("old school Russian dictator"). A Celtic side of Larsson, Sutton, Thompson, Petrov and Lambert ("Like men, like real men"), the 2004/05 season, the PFA Scotland Player and Young Player of the Year double, the Benfica night and Tommy Burns' advice.
What was Martin O'Neill like as a manager?
McGeady says O'Neill was hands-off day to day, letting his coaches Steve Walford and John Robertson take training, but a motivator who "managed the dressing room really well": "Other managers would struggle to manage that dressing room."
Which game made Aiden McGeady's name at Celtic?
Celtic 1-0 Benfica in the Champions League at Celtic Park on 6 November 2007. McGeady scored the only goal ("It took a deflection") and heard on Super Scoreboard that he was "worth 10, 15 million".
What did Tommy Burns tell Aiden McGeady?
After a half where he'd been tackled again and again: "No one else in this team can do what you can do."
Which player from that Celtic side would you have loved to play alongside? Tell us below.
CHAPTERS
0:00 Aiden McGeady's managers: Trapattoni, O'Neill, Strachan, Martinez and Emery
3:00 Martin O'Neill and "a brick wall"
4:12 Breaking into Celtic: Larsson, Sutton, Thompson, Petrov, Lambert
4:46 Martin O'Neill the motivator, and has football evolved?
8:38 The PFA Scotland double and Shaun Maloney
11:14 Celtic 1-0 Benfica: "everything came together"
12:33 Tommy Burns: "no one else in this team can do what you can do"
14:18 PLZ Shop: 10% off your first order
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Watch the full Straight Talk with Aiden McGeady: https://youtu.be/6Ht9HUIHjdc
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