Aiden McGeady admits that Republic of Ireland fans have not really seen the best of him over the last few years , a contention that Giovanni Trapattoni would probably not contest with him too vigorously. The Italian's more immediate concern, however, is that it seems neither he nor the Irish supporters in New York will be seeing the 27-year-old at all next week with the player set to skip the trip in order to focus on the preparations for his wedding this Friday week.
“I don’t think I am going, no, because I’m due back on Moscow on the 19th or sooner,” he said yesterday, “and obviously the 14th, and the 13th the day before . . . it’s pretty tight. I spoke to the manager and he seemed okay about it, but I don’t know if he totally gave the okay.”
The Ireland manager's hopes of keeping the squad together for the game against Spain are beginning to look just a little forlorn. Marc Wilson and Shane Long won't be travelling and there are doubts about John O'Shea and Stephen Kelly even before the game against the Faroes.
O'Shea was, along with the likes of David Forde, Glenn Whelan, Damien Delaney and Wilson, one of a handful of players to spend most of yesterday morning's training session in the gym rather than out on the pitch but most are expected to be back with the main group today and all should be available for selection for Friday's qualifier. It is what happens beyond that that seems to be rather more up for grabs.
Whoever else bites the dust, James McCarthy will be staying on according to Marco Tardelli.
Honour contract
McGeady, meanwhile, is looking a little further down the line. He has a year left on his contract at Spartak Moscow and says he will honour it happily enough if the club wants him to, but sounds all the while like he would prefer to be somewhere else next season; namely England.
Between injuries, a late season suspension and his club finishing only fourth in the league, it has not been the greatest of campaigns for him, of course, and there is an underlying sense of frustration. “It’s nothing to do with being there,” he maintains, “but, as I’ve said before, I’d like to try somewhere else.”
A proposed move to Wigan in January almost provided the opportunity he was looking for but it fell through.
Tardelli is pretty clear about wanting McGeady back in England too, observing that while the spell in Russia has benefited him, moving to the Premier League would probably enable him to make greater progress. Scoring a little more often inevitably gets a mention in relation to a player whose tally is only two goals in 59 international appearances.
McGeady has previously argued about that he could do with being a little more lethal around the opposition area while achieving a little more consistency generally with Ireland for whom he feels, he has only occasionally lived up to his own expectations.
“People probably talk about end product at times but I know myself more than anyone that I’ve got to create more chances,” he says. “For just some reason or another, though, I probably haven’t hit my best form for a continued period of time for Ireland.
“I don’t know why, I just don’t think it reflects the way I play at club level. Obviously I’ve had some good games, but not consistently over time. The Euros was a good campaign for me – the qualifying campaign – but it still probably wasn’t the way I feel I can play.”
Producing his best over the latter half of this campaign would certainly be welcome but he is adamant that the team is still firmly in the hunt for qualification. “I don’t think there’s any reason why we can’t,” he says.
