The swagger was there when a primary school Aiden McGeady used to keep the ball off Pat McGinlay in his back garden.
Three decades later Hibs icon McGinlay can’t wait to see that confidence and guile back on the big stage as McGeady finally gets ready to strut his stuff for the Easter Road side. The marquee summer signing made his comeback from a knee injury that stalled his start to life in Leith in a 1-0 closed doors friendly win over Raith on Thursday.
All going well the former Celtic ace could be thrust into action when the Hibees return from the World Cup break on Thursday evening with a trip to face Rangers no less. And while McGinlay fears a starting jersey at Ibrox might be a bit much to ask of the 36-year-old after just 30 minutes action, he reckons McGeady could well play a key role off the bench.
Eighteen years and half a lifetime have passed since the winger exploded onto the scene as a teenager at Celtic. While a yard of pace may have been lost, manager Lee Johnson reckons the 93-times capped Ireland ace still has the magic to unlock defences as he looks for a solution to the dilemma created by Martin Boyle’s season ending injury.
And McGinlay, who made over 350 appearances for the Hibees across two spells either side of a season at Celtic, reckons that could be key to sparking the Hibees to life after a run of six defeats in seven games. He told Record Sport : “I would certainly hope so. Aiden has guile in abundance and a bit of a swagger about him so he’s suited to getting things going again at Easter Road.
“He had that swagger as a kid growing up in King’s Park. He lived next door to my sister-in-law Linda so I’ve known Aiden for 30 years or so since he was a wee lad. I’ve watched him right through his whole career and it’s been fantastic.
“His dad John played with Sheffield United and always claimed he was better than me but luckily for him we never actually played against each other! But Aiden is a cut above. He always loved playing football and had a real appetite to succeed.
“He has the skill, the ability to pick passes and, again, that swagger that only special footballers have on the park. He’s had that since he was a kid.
“Just watching him in the back garden, sometimes I’d get the ball out with him and he was phenomenal. He could keep the ball up, would shoot at goal from anywhere and just really enjoyed taking you on and playing the game.
“I would go and watch him sometimes with the Celtic youth teams and he always stood out so his career hasn’t been a surprise to me. If he can stay fit now then I’m sure Hibs will benefit because if you put his experience together with his ability you have a special talent.
“He might not have the pace but he has the jink, the bit of magic to get by his man and create chances. If Hibs get service to him then he’ll create things for sure and the fans love that type of player.
“Back in my day at Easter Road you had the likes of Joe McBride who was fantastic, Joe Tortolano too. The type of guys you would give the ball when you needed something to happen. That’s what Lee Johnson will be looking for from Aiden particularly with Boyle out for the rest of the season.”
Easter Road boss Johnson spoke this week of the importance of having his injured stars including McGeady, Kevin Nisbet and Kyle Magennis back in the mix and even ready for 45 minutes’ action if not a full 90. Johnson needs options as he looks to turn around a rotten run of form that saw his side plummet from third to eighth before the five-week break for the World Cup.
McGeady has yet to play a minute in the Premiership after breaking down with a knee injury in a July friendly against Norwich City. If he is to get a run out at Ibrox, McGinlay reckons his impact might be best kept until late on.
He said: “It’s maybe just a wee bit early to throw Aiden right in from the start against Rangers. He’s going to come in for a wee bit of stick having been a Celtic player for so long.
“I’m sure he can handle that but it might just be a bit soon because it was a serious injury. I’m sure they will want him involved though and perhaps an impact off the bench is the best idea.”
It’s not just McGeady’s influence with the ball at his feet that can drive Hibs forward though. The former Sunderland, Everton and Spartak Moscow star is renowned for his demanding standards of team mates too.
And McGinlay said: “Aiden has high standards. Clubs always need players with that bit of experience to set the standards and make sure everyone is pulling their weight. I had an abundance of that with guys like Graham Mitchell, George McCluskey and big Gordon Rae.
“If you never pulled your weight then they were right into you. Hopefully Aiden can bring a bit of that to the team as well.”
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