‘I went from pantomime villain to almost the hero’
Aiden McGeady says he hopes to carry on playing for Sunderland for ‘as long as he can’ – after being brought back in from the cold under Lee Johnson.
The 34-year-old was exiled under former manager Phil Parkinson and looked destined for an exit from the Stadium of Light, before being given a new lease of life under Johnson.
McGeady has been a near ever-present since the appointment of the new head coach and put in a dazzling display against Doncaster Rovers on Saturday afternoon – as he provided all four assists for Charlie Wyke in the resounding win.
And the winger has opened up on being branded the ‘pantomime villain’ during his time away, and admits he has Johnson to thank for bringing him back into the side.
“It's funny how football changes, because a year ago I was the pantomime villain,” said McGeady, speaking after the Doncaster win.
"And then, when I came back - you become a better player when you don't play, don't you? That's the way football is sometimes and I went from the pantomime villain to almost like the hero when I came back.
"I was thinking there was a lot of pressure because I've not actually played a lot of football - but it just shows you football can change very quickly.
“I'm just glad to be playing,” he continued.
"After the year I've had, it's been difficult. I've had all sorts of things said about me and labelled against me, and I think the proof is in the pudding.
"I'm glad to be back playing and I think the players are happy to have me back.
"I've got to give the manager a lot of credit as well because straight away he's come in and said 'you're going to be
a big player for me.' He's said that from day one and I have to give him a lot of thanks as well.
"Ultimately it's not about me, the end goal is about the team getting up. It's as simple as that.”
McGeady is one of the key beneficiaries of Johnson’s reign so far, and is flourishing in the frontfooted style of play now employed by the Black Cats.
When in possession, the winger is able to benefit from a large degree of freedom – which allows him to find the pockets of space necessary to provide the deliveries he has become renowned for across his career.
But McGeady knows he needs to remain disciplined in the shape, as Johnson looks to get his message across to the side despite limited training time owing to the hectic schedule of fixtures facing the side.
“With the ball, yeah,
I've got a lot of freedom,” explained the winger.
"Without the ball he can be quite rigid in how he wants the team to play and press.
"With the ball I can kind of go where I want and do what I want as long as other players fill in and you get back into shape as quick as possible.
"He's totally different from what we had before in terms of how he wants the team to press and play - and it's difficult for him because he's not had a lot of time with the team to implement his ideas, so we're trying our best to take it in and put it on the pitch.”
McGeady’s influence on the Sunderland side has grown in recent weeks as he continues to build-up his match sharpness following his spell in the wilderness.
And despite his dazzling display against Doncaster, the experienced wideman says he still isn’t at full fitness just yet.
“I played no games from July,” he explained.
"That was my last game at Charlton on loan and I played no games - I played about an hour for the ressies, and then mid-December the manager said 'do you want to play' and I said 'yeah'.
"It is going to take time to get up to completely the way I felt a year and a half ago, but slowly I think I'm maybe getting there.”
If McGeady’s performance continue in the vein we have seen in recent weeks, then the focus will soon turn to securing his long-term future at Sunderland.
The winger is one of a host of senior players out of contract in the summer and the man himself admits the decision is out of his hands, particularly while the Black Cats’ divisional status remains uncertain.
But having turned down opportunities to leave Wearside since the club’s drop into League One, McGeady admits he is happy at the club – and wants to continuing playing for Sunderland for ‘as long as he can’.
When quizzed on his future, the former Celtic man said: “It's not up to me.
"The manager has mentioned to me that he sees that I've got two or three years left in me at this level or higher. I was playing last season in the Championship for Charlton and I'm not saying I ripped it up. but I felt I could still play there myself.
"My hope is to just carry on playing for Sunderland as long as I can. When I signed that extension over a year ago I could have left, but I like it here. I could have left in the summer, I probably should have left in the summer, but I thought the way things were going it was best to stick around, if you know what I mean.”
Lee Johnson hailed an 'absolutely outstanding' first half from his Sunderland side after they sealed an impressive 4-1 win over Doncaster Rovers.
Charlie Wyke scored a remarkable four goals, all of them assisted by an inspired Aiden McGeady, as the Black Cats climbed back into the play-off places.
Johnson said his side benefited from a 'high risk, highreward' strategy as their aggressive pressing game overwhelmed the visitors at the Stadium of Light.
"I thought the first half was absolutely outstanding in our press against a very good side," he said.
"You can see in the second half when Doncaster had their spells that they are a very good side. We had to expend a lot of energy early with that high press, it was high risk and high reward and we certainly got that.
"I was really proud of the players today.
"After a loss like Tuesday, you feel the magnitude of the club, you feel the message from the outside and I think it's really important that we manage that message internally, that we maintain the belief.
"It was a big game today, but they all are, and we've really capitalised on an opportunity today even if Doncaster still have games in hand on us.
"We've got to just keep chipping away, improving our performance,therearebitsin
the second half that we need to go back and look at it.
"But the effort from everybody and the skill in the first half put us in the margins where we could take risks."
The head coach said McGeady's superb contribution was a reward for his performances in recent weeks, noting that the lack of supporters to give him a standing ovation as he left the field
was the only downside of the afternoon.
Johnson also had praise for Wyke as he climbed to the top of the League One scoring charts, while Lee Burge also saved two penalties on his recall to the starting XI.
"It was vintage McGeady," he said.
"At the same time, he's been pretty consistent for us. His numbers have been good, his physical numbers have been good.
He's been good to work with, he's always challenging, but that's what you expect from someone who has had a career like his.
"Then you have Charlie with four goals to put himself top of the charts and Burgey with two penalty saves."
Johnson urged his side to build on the performance as they enter a crucial run of games. "We've got to not have that little Sunderland selfsabotage element in us, and I include all of us in that," Johnson said.
"Even I was better today in that I've been getting frustrated the last couple of games, I know I got booked but that was just a momentary lapse!
"We've got to keep our cool on and off the pitch now,
"There was so much quality on the pitch today and the only sad thing for me is that the supporters weren't here to aid us with that world-famous noise.
"We've got good quality players, and the standard has been set. We haven't always matched them [previously] and that's the challenge, to have that Premier League mindset."
Barely a minute of the second half had been played when Aiden McGeady clattered into a tackle not far from the Doncaster Rovers box.
The aggressive press paid off, a loose ball recycled and played early out to the right flank.
The cross from Lynden Goochwaswicked,andthevisitors were relieved to survive the danger clear for a corner.
There were so many striking moments in a quite remarkable game that it might seem a little odd to focus on this one. It felt important, though, because it highlightedSunderland'srefusaltotake a backward step at any point in the game.
At this point, they were 3-0 up and in complete control, McGeady already with three assists to his name. His tackle was a signal that the Black Cats would not sit on their lead.
When Doncaster pulled a goal back shortly, thanks in no small part to a large dose of goodfortune,McGeadysimply attacked the byline and stood up yet another inch-perfect cross.
Charlie Wyke had a little help on this occasion, but his four-goal tally was fair reward notjustforconsistentlysuperb positioning in the box, but for the all-around quality of his play as he led the line.
It was, as Lee Johnson pointed out, far from the complete performance.
DoncasterRovershadtheir spellsinthegameandtheirfinishing was wasteful, not just withthetwopenaltiesthatthey spurned in the second half (it must be said that the first was a genuinely superb save from Lee Burge).
ThatSunderlandwerecomfortably the better and most enterprising side was not in question nevertheless and for that reason, this was the performance that supporters needed to see.
Johnson has promised a 'bold' and 'brave' side while
Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman has talked of a long-term plan to deliver an attacking philosophy starting that begins from an aggressive high press.
There have been signs of it in patches, but this is the closest the Black Cats have come to sustaining it for ninety minutes.
Even when Darren Moore's side looked threatening, Sunderland always seemed capable of a response.
It was arguably the most expansive and exciting performance since Barnsley were overwhelmed in November 2018, a 4-2 win that arguably proved to be the high water mark of the club's time in League One so far.
As they did on that night, Sunderland took risks here and deserved their rewards.
Tuesday night's performance against Shrewsbury Town had been a wounding experience, the Black Cats outfoughtandoutplayedinthe second half.
Johnson on more than one occasion said ahead of this one thattherewouldbeanelement of getting back to basics.
Perhaps even more tellingly, Johnson discussed replacing Jordan Willis and spoke of getting 'round pegs in round holes' as much as possible.
Sunderlandrevertedto4-33, with Max Power installed at the base of midfield.
Josh Scowen and Luke O'Nien led the press ahead of him as Conor McLaughlin returned to his familiar rightback role.
To his credit, Sunderland's head coach quickly acknowledged an error in dropping Burge and was rewarded with the goalkeeper's two penalty saves.
There was a balance to the side that has not always been the case in the last fortnight, when Sunderland have looked likeathreateningsideinattack, but have struggled overall for control.
Everywhere you looked there were strong performances.
Dion Sanderson’s showing underlined both his promise and his ability at this level, and confirmed that his best position is unquestionably at the heart of defence.
McLaughlin's steady performance on his return from a hernia problem underlined why he has quietly become an important player to this side, allowing Johnson to get more athleticism and intensity into his midfield.
Scowen and O'Nien were impressive in their energy and built the platform for Sunderland'sforwardlinetohurttheir opponents.
It was a performance of quite mesmeric individual qualityfromMcGeady.Hehurt Doncaster on the outside, the inside, and by dropping deep to carve them open with balls over the top.
What was notable, though, was the way Sunderland created the platform for him to thrive.
The service to him was quicker and earlier, making it harderforDoncastertodouble up and shut down the space in which he can do damage.
Consistency is key for Sunderland and the reality of their stop-start season thus far is that only a long run of results is going to give them a realistic chance of making the top two.
This was a quite superb responsetothebitterdisappointment of Tuesday night’s defeat and most importantly of all, it was an afternoon when Sunderland were fun, when they drew you in and lifted the spiritsinspiteofeverythingelsegoing on outside of football.