Roberto Martinez was at pains at his prematch press conference yesterday to present Everton's attitude towards Aiden McGeady and Darron Gibson as supportive.
But scrape the surface and there may well have been a hint of “get on with it” about his words when asked about the two Irish internationals who have until Monday to sort out loan moves if they want to stay in the Premier League.
“They are both very experienced and should be playing more minutes in the first team,” said the Spaniard. “That happens. Sometimes you’re out of favour or you are not participating as much as you want.
“That’s why, with the big summer, with the Euros ahead, we need to take that into consideration. But it goes down to ultimately what the players want to do and see if there is a possibility they are happy to take. If not, they will be professional and be wanting to help the team and they’ll be available.”
There was no suggestion in any of it that they will see much action if they decide to stick around beyond the transfer deadline and the likelihood must be that they would not.
What remains to be seen now is whether the pair are willing to sort out the types of moves that will allow them to get playing again somewhere else. Important as it is, there is surely more at stake for them than whether they are in contention to start for Ireland in France at the European Championships. McGeady is probably viewed as the more pressing case by Martin O’Neill who makes no secret of his admiration of the talent possessed by the player.
The manager, though, has made no secret of his frustration over the way McGeady has lost his way, observing back in August: “Aiden is no longer 22, 23, 24 . . . you don’t want to get to the end of your career and find you had an incredible amount of talent, talent that most people would have died for and you haven’t utilised it properly.”
The fact is the midfielder, who turns 30 in April , may have made his name at Celtic and his money at Spartak but he now needs to do something to preserve his reputation as a player of real quality. There was some excitement two years ago about his arrival in the Premier League after that stint in Russia but his next move, assuming it happens in the coming days, will not cause much of a stir outside of Ireland and he will have a great deal to prove between now and the summer if he is to become even a moderately hot property again.
Leeds have confirmed that they made an approach but the player appeared to be weighing up top-flight options. Heading to Elland Road would surely be better than staying put while Sheffield Wednesday, who are also said to be interested, would probably be better than either.
Wednesday are also said to be keen on Gibson who is said to be a target too for Sunderland and Aston Villa.
For a decade now, greatness or, more recently, something very faintly resembling it, seemed to be just around the corner for the northerner but for a variety of reasons – some of them injury related, some of them not – it has never happened and after four years at Everton, it is hard to imagine that the club’s supporters would be overly upset to see him go.
As recently as last September, Martinez hailed his return from injury in an under-21 game against Sunderland as having the potential to be a turning point.
Since then, the midfielder has played 39 minutes of Premier League football over four appearances from the bench and started in two cup games. It’s a pitiful return for a player who had the potential to have a really good Premier League career.
The next few days constitute one of the key opportunities left open to him to get things back on track.
If he makes the right call for the right reasons then France and everything else should follow. Get it wrong and Ireland, like Everton, seem bound to simply press on without him.
