Former Celtic winger Aiden McGeady has told BetBrain that he believes Martin O’Neill is one of the greatest “man-managers” in football.
Former Celtic winger Aiden McGeady has told BetBrain that he believes Martin O’Neill is one of the greatest “man-managers” in football.
Aiden McGeady played 185 games for Celtic between 2004 and 2010, scoring 31 goals for the Bhoys during that time. He won four Scottish league titles, two Scottish Cups, and one Scottish League Cup.
He moved to Russian club Spartak Moscow in 2010 for a record fee for a player from Scotland, which was far from a no deposit bonus for the red-and-whites, costing close to £10 million, and was a runner-up in the Russian Premier League.
Speaking of his experience under the Northern Irish boss, McGeady noted:
“Martin O’Neill was amazing to work under,” he said. “He gave me my debut at Celtic and I played a lot under him in that first season. Then, after leaving Celtic, he became Republic of Ireland manager, which was brilliant for me as well.
“His biggest strength was the way he handled expectations, pressure and different personalities. He wasn't a hands-on coach in terms of running training every day - his staff did a lot of that - but on matchday he came alive.”
Keeping personnel in check while giving them confidence is no easy task, as our readers have gotten to understand through the various conversations we’ve had for the BetBrain blog. Chief among them is our interview with Gus Poyet, where he discussed former
Man United coach Ruben Amorim, a young and idealistic mind who was very different from O’Neill.
“He made sure every player understood exactly what was expected, and if you weren't doing your job, he'd let you know. His greatest quality was getting the very best out of the players he had available.”
McGeady had confidence in his former gaffer, whose major successes required a balancing effort and motivational skills, making his results far from free spins in the context of his opportunities.
“I wasn't surprised to see his success at international level either. That was Martin's biggest strength throughout his career; he knew how to manage people, how to deal with expectations and how to create belief within a group.
“He always found a way of getting the best out of the players at his disposal, and that's exactly what he did with Ireland as well.”
