DIVIDE & conquer
As someone who has crossed the chasm and provoked an Old Firm furore, McGeouch is in no doubt new Bhoy Allan will rise above it
AS Scott Allan mulled over the implications of joining Celtic after a summer courtship with first loves Rangers, he was bombarded with opinions, suggestions and an often vicious level of abuse. Out of respect, the friend best placed to offer advice kept his distance. Dylan McGeouch knows what it is like to cross the Glasgow divide.
He did it twice as a teenager and experienced having a thousand voices in his ear, each offering a view more strident than the last.
Barely four years have passed since McGeouch moved back to Celtic from Rangers but the intervening period has witnessed an explosion in social media that meant Allan’s protracted departure from Hibs was conducted in a quite volatile and, at times, vitriolic atmosphere.
McGeouch spent last season on loan at Easter Road and his burgeoning friendship with Allan featured some inevitable, good-natured sparring over the pair’s respective leanings.
For a time, it looked like Allan would fulfil a boyhood dream of joining Rangers but Hibs’ resolve not to sell to a title rival saw three bids kicked out and opened the door for Celtic to gazump the neighbours across the Clyde.
Having already been vilified by some Hibs fans for submitting a transfer request, Allan received more vituperation from Rangers fans angered by his perceived treachery.
McGeouch, by now back at Celtic and fighting a doomed final bid to force his way into Ronny Deila’s side, decided to keep his own counsel.
‘I thought it was best just to leave Scott to himself,’ said McGeouch. ‘He always knows he can pick up the phone to me if he needs help but he needed to make that decision himself. He didn’t need all the outside stuff.
‘I know everybody would have been at him — I’ve had it before myself, people you’ve not heard from in years getting in touch.
‘In Glasgow, you are either blue or green. I was at Rangers and went back to Celtic and all that was on my mind — was it worth the hassle from the fans? But I think it comes down to a football decision. It’s a bit silly to think of the Celtic/ Rangers thing.’
Social media notwithstanding, McGeouch also benefited from the fact he was hardly a household name at the time of his reverse transfer. Originally taken out of Celtic after a family dispute over the treatment of his brother Darren, McGeouch spent three years at Rangers before Celtic lured him back.
The tale was bound to spark interest but, with McGeouch yet to make a first-team appearance, it had limited mileage. As last season’s Championship Player of the Year, and a midfielder earmarked for the No10 jersey at Rangers, Allan was a lightning rod for hysteria.
‘You know all the banter that comes with playing for an Old Firm team,’ mused McGeouch. ‘I took a bit myself but I blanked it out. At that time, social media wasn’t as big, it was more internet forums and stuff. Now you have Twitter. Personally, I don’t want to get involved in that.
‘You strive to keep people out of your personal life and there’s only so much you need to tell people. Maybe after a game I will send a tweet saying thanks to the fans but that’s as far as I go.’
McGeouch’s sensible attitude to social media befits a 22-year-old who has done a lot of growing up over the past few years. Having embarked on loan spells at both Coventry City and Hibs in an effort to spark the big breakthrough at Parkhead, he finally cut his l osses by accepting a permanent switch to Easter Road.
His transfer crystalised at the time of the Allan deal, but was completed independently. As severance negotiations continued, McGeouch was one of a few familiar faces waiting for Allan as he was introduced to the Celtic dressing room.
‘I had that first week with him at Celtic. It was good to see him running about Lennoxtown with the Celtic gear on,’ he laughed. ‘It’s a good move for him and he is strong enough to handle it.
‘I don’t think he’ll have any trouble settling in. Scott Brown has already taken him under his wing and the players won’t hold anything against him. The fans also gave him a great reception.
‘You can see he has the ability. He needs to work hard for the team and, certainly under this manager, it’s a lot of hard work, energy and reaction. He can improve defensively but, if he does that, he will give himself a right chance. He is good enough.’
While Allan fights to prove his worth at Celtic, McGeouch is settling back in at a club where he knows he will be given a chance to flourish.
Utilised either as a winger or, occasionally, as an emergency full-back sent into battle when Celtic were resting an entire team between Champions League fixtures, last season he blossomed in his natural role under Alan Stubbs.
‘Anywhere in the middle of the park and I’m happy,’ he continued. ‘Most people would only have seen me playing further forward or on the right. Maybe it’s unusual to see me sitting in midfield but I enjoy it.
‘Playing rightback was never ideal but at Celtic I was just happy to get on the park. If you’re not playing regularly, it takes a while to find your touch and sharpness.
‘Last year, once I got a run of games, I really felt more comfortable on the ball. I think it showed.’
As part of the deal that took Allan to Celtic, teenager Liam Henderson moved the other way on loan. Like McGeouch, Henderson has flirted with first-team football and will now attempt to use Easter Road as a proving ground.
‘Liam is still young, so to come here and get a run of games will do him the world of good,’ added McGeouch. ‘He’ll go back stronger, sharper and knowing more about the game.
‘He’s good enough to play for Celtic, but it’s difficult. Every game is a must-win, so they can’t just chuck in a bunch of young boys. They pay good money for players to try to achieve Champions League level. You wait your turn and hope you grab your chance.
‘I had Scott Brown, the club captain, Nir Bitton, Stefan Johansen and the two United boys (Stuart Armstrong and Gary MackaySteven). The competition is cut-throat.’
With Fraser Fyvie in situ at Easter Road and John McGinn recruited from St Mirren, McGeouch reckons, though shorn of Allan, the Hibs midfield might even be a stronger unit this term.
‘Scott is a good player and he created a lot for us but midfield-wise we are just as strong,’ he said. We can all rotate. We have a good balance but we’re all runners, too. We work hard.’
Even if there is an improvement in Stubbs’ team, the emergence of Rangers as a cohesive force under Mark Warburton means the challenge of attaining automatic promotion will require a raising of the bar.
With Henderson, Fyvie and McGinn in the starting line-up, Hibs were still beaten by Rangers at Ibrox recently, with old accusations of a team unable to convert its chances resurfacing.
‘Rangers have a buzz about them, they are on a wee streak but, if you look at that game, we could easily have come away with a result,’ he said.
‘We had chances and, if we are more clinical, we will be a real team.
‘Last season, we beat Rangers a few times home and away, so we’re not intimidated by them. Yes, they are a different team and they have momentum but we don’t fear them. We are aiming for automatic promotion. We can’t look at anything else.’
McGeouch has signed a three-year deal with Hibs, an indication of his commitment to working with Stubbs, a man he looked up to during his childhood growing up in Glasgow. ‘Coming to Hibs took me to a different level,’ he added. ‘We didn’t just launch it forward and that suited the likes of myself and Scott. The manager let us express ourselves.
‘Growing up, I remember watching him during his last season at Celtic.
‘It was the Treble year under Martin O’Neill and I remember going to a street party with my dad up in Royston. It was great fun. I’ve spoken to the gaffer about that and he just laughed and told me they had some party themselves. It’s good
listening to the stories he can tell about the Larssons and so on — growing up, these guys were heroes to me.’
McGeouch departed Celtic with a few tales of his own to tell; from scoring a wonderful solo goal on his home debut to impressing then being detained in a Philadelphia hospital after being knocked out and having his jaw broken during an exhibition game against Real Madrid in 2012.
‘Growing up a Celtic fan, running out at Parkhead was a big thing,’ he said. I was a ball boy there and dreamed of playing, so to score that goal against St Mirren would be the highlight. ‘The Real Madrid game too — the bit I remember anyway! It was an accidental clash with Nuri Sahin. Until that moment, it had been a good experience to come up against Kaka, Xabi Alonso, Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos. It was surreal.
‘I’ll never regret going back to Celtic. Who knows what may happen in the future but I’m at an age where I need to be playing regular games.
‘It was a big decision to move on but that’s what I’m here to do. The aim is to get Hibs back up to the Premiership.’