Aiden McGeady would welcome the Republic of Ireland being drawn in the same group as England in the European Championships when the groups are decided in Nice this Sunday.

The Everton winger, who is set to be named by Martin O’Neill this morning in his squad for the March 5th friendly against Serbia at the Aviva Stadium, added that of the top seeds, he would prefer to avoid a repeat encounter with Germany. However, a clash with Roy Hodgson’s side would be something to really look forward to.

“I think we’d relish it,” he said, “like the game at Wembley. England probably weren’t at their best but we played quite well and ended up getting a credible result. I think a lot of people expected us to lose by some margin but one-all away was a decent result.”

The 27-year-old has been impressed by the way O’Neill, who will be in Limerick for the squad announcemen, has settled into the job since taking over from Giovanni Trapattoni late last year although he insists the Italian did well.

“I think the main one (quality that O’Neill possesses) is the motivation he brings to a team and the response he gets out of players. I always found that at Celtic; the way he speaks to players and the way he energises them before games. That was a big factor in Celtic having so much success. Obviously he’s played the game at a top level and been a manager for a number of years too. He knows the game inside out.

“I think the time had come for a change, for the team to have a change in direction. Obviously we were very successful under Trapattoni (and) I think he left the team in a better state than he found it but I think everyone is happy with the new start. We played quite well under the new management in the first couple of games and hopefully we can carry that on into the qualifying campaign.”