I could retire but hunger to win is still strong in me
Aiden Ai McGeady freely admits he could co retire on the spot without a financial fin worry in the world.
Unlike U his colourful style on the park, pa he has kept it safe off it by investing wisely and setting himself up for life.
His playing career has been rich with silverware and international caps too. But there’s one man the veteran Hibs ace remains indebted to – Easter Road boss Lee Johnson.
Why? Because there’s a hunger still burning inside McGeady to perform at the highest level possible. And it’s his former Sunderland manager, who salvaged his career at the Black Cats, again providing that opportunity in the twilight of his career.
McGeady is currently on the sidelines with a medial ligament injury sustained during the League Cup group stages. But he could return before the World Cup break in November.
And that’s when he aims to start repaying Johnson’s faith and showing the world he still has another two years left in his legs at least.
The Hibs manager described McGeady as a “challenging but inspiring character” when he agreed a one- year deal in Leith in the summer. It’s a fiery relationship but one that provides a spark that brings out the best in the former Celtic and Ireland star’s game.
McGeady said: “It’s a funny one with the manager because I’d been cast off into the 23s at Sunderland under Phil Parkinson and hadn’t played there for a year.
“When Lee Johnson got that job on the Friday night he phoned me and said, ‘Listen, I’m getting the job, do you want to start tomorrow against Wigan?’
“I hadn’t played a game in four or five months so I wasn’t going to turn it down and from then on I played every game. We got to know each other – the way he likes to play gives me a bit of freedom.
“We clash at times but he doesn’t mind you having your own opinion and expressing it, debating and having a discussion about things.
Other managers don’t, he’s quite open that way. Football has changed since I came through. The way you speak to people and players now has to be different.
“There’s a lot of young players and mentalities are a bit different now to when I was coming through.
“He gives me that freedom to express my opinion. We can have debates and discussions and I enjoy playing under him.
“I’ve got a lot of loyalty to him because he brought me straight back in at Sunderland and I performed well under him.
“So when he got the Hibs job I never spoke to him beforehand but I was hoping it would happen and eventually it did.
“I don’t want to sound disrespectful but I could retire today if I wanted to, and be fine financially. But I still have that hunger to play football and I know I can still perform at this level.
“If I’d played all last season at Sunderland, chances are I would still be there if I was fit. I know I’ve got another couple of years left in me if I look after myself so it’s more about me. I still enjoy playing and I feel I’ve still got a lot to give.”
In the 18 years since making his professional debut as a teenager for Celtic against Hearts, McGeady has worked with an impressive list of managers including Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan at Celtic, Unai Emery at Spartak Moscow and Roberto Martinez during his time at Everton.
Each with their own style. But how does Johnson measure up?
McGeady said: “He is total ly different. Strachan, O’Neill – these guys are more man managers than about tactics and formations.
“But a lot of younger managers like Lee Johnson, Alex Neil, Roberto Martinez and probably Shaun Maloney – a lot of it is about tactics with them and that seems to be the way football is going now. He’s big on analysis, very big on set-pieces and formations and shape – he is very much the modern manager.”