Source: FOOTYMAD
McGeady: New players quietly settling in - except Hooiveld
It's just over fourteen months since an infamous dressing room spat with his manager threatened to end Aiden McGeady's Celtic career but the Irish international defied tabloid predictions by remaining in Glasgow and he says that he's more involved in the game under new boss Tony Mowbray. Aiden McGeady - Enjoying life under MowbrayIt's well known that Aiden McGeady and Gordon Strachan didn't always see eye-to-eye during the latter's spell in charge of the club. Matters came to a head in the dressing room following a 1-1 draw against Hearts at Celtic Park in December 2008 when the player reacted angrily to criticism from his manager. There is only ever going to be one winner in this type of situation and the manager, with the full backing of the club, suspended the player for two weeks and fined him two weeks wages - a hefty £30,000.The media gleefully predicted McGeady's imminent departure from Celtic Park but the midfielder surprised them all by buckling down and regaining his place in Strachan's side. Now the Republic of Ireland winger is the key playmaker under new boss Tony Mowbray and he insists that the added responsibility he's been given in this new-look Celtic side won't intimidate him."I have enjoyed working with the manager since he came in." said McGeady. "I enjoy working with him and all of the backroom staff, he has brought out a different side to my game as well, he gives me more of a licence to go and seek the ball instead of standing on the touchline the way I was used to playing the last few seasons. That is ideal for me. I think the majority of the goals that I have set up this season have come from inside the park instead of crosses.""In previous seasons that probably wasn't the case." he continued. "I was more known as an orthodox winger. I think my form has been okay. I think I have been quite consistent in my performances. Overall, I have been reasonably happy. I just go out and play and play football the way that I enjoy. I just keep doing what I am doing, creating chances for others. The added responsibility doesn't mean anything to me to be honest. I have had it my whole career so I just go out and play, that is the way I feel."Robbie Keane - quality to aim forAiden's task as a provider should become ultimately more fulfilling now that he has a player of Robbie Keane's calibre up front for Celtic but he's been impressed by all of Tony Mowbray's latest recruits. "Kamara has come in and done pretty well." said McGeady. "I like him as a player, he can play up front or out wide. He has come in and he has been doing well over the last few games. Obviously Robbie Keane, I know a lot about him. He is a very, very clever player and he will score a lot of goals up here, I have no doubt about that. The same with Edson Braafheid, the first couple of games he has looked really solid. It is just that one moment at Aberdeen where he conceded a penalty but apart from that he has been pretty solid." "And Morten has come in and he knows where the goal is." said Celtic's number 46. "That is one thing about him, in the game against Dunfermline in the first half he didn't get much service but then he comes up with a goal and was involved and played really well in the second half. Ki has been here a little bit longer but everybody can see he is a clever player. He is good on the ball and he definitely gives us something different. Every player that comes in, they have their own qualities and they can definitely add bits and pieces to the squad and hopefully make us a better team."McGeady says that all the new bhoys are settling in quietly - well, all of them except Jos Hooiveld. "The atmosphere is good." said Aiden. "It is always going to take time for the players to come in and feel their way into the squad, that is just the way football is. It is the same is any walk of life, you wouldn't go into a new job and go in and be the loudest in the dressing room, apart from maybe Jos Hooiveld, he has actually done that. That's the way football is, people who speak the same language tend to hang around with each other at first. The French speakers seem to stick together. It is good for Diomansy and Edson, they are all quite close, him and Landry and Marco Fortune. It is good to have people in the dressing room you know quite well."
