Tony Mowbray has today pointed out that he feels that Aiden McGeady will be key to any success Celtic may have this season. Whether this is just a piece of clever man-management and motivation or it is indeed fact will remain to be seen, however regardless of that this is another example of the positive impact that Mowbray exudes from every pore.
One criticism of WGS was that he shackled his creative players too much, with both Aiden McGeady and Shunsuke Nakamura both being tied to wings rather than being afforded the freedom to express their very obvious talents. It would appear that Mowbray is keen to redress the balance and give Aiden the platform to shine.
'I don't think great player is too strong a description for Aiden McGeady, having watched him in the first few weeks, because he is an exceptional talent.
'I've never seen quicker feet in a footballer than Aiden possesses and there is no point in me caging that up. I have to let him go and express himself on a football field.
'And I will structure my team around the fact. By having such quality, imagination and ability, you have to harness your team around it. You have to build your team around that quality. Let him go and win us games and create us chances, but make sure it doesn't weaken the team in the process.'
So dazzling is his admiration for McGeady, so much so that the Manager was quick to place Aiden in the same category of the cream of the EPL, without giving the media any ammunition by drawing direct comparisons.
'I experienced the English Premier League last year and had a group of players who at times held their own and at times found it difficult.
'But we felt the strength and power of the Rooneys, the Tevez, the Torres, the great players. I just think Aiden McGeady, one on one against just about anybody, is capable of causing them a problem.
'You have got to get him in the right areas of the pitch to do that, you have got to give him confidence and belief, that he can go past people, jink inside people, come back, leave people on their backside.
'I know he can do that because I have seen it.
However for every piece of praise comes a lesson to be learned, and Mowbray was quick to point out a few criticisms of his valuable young talent.
'As a club, we have to go out to win games, Aiden has to go and find the consistency of performance himself that you would not ask questions like that about him.
'It would then be a given that he could do it.
'As a club, we have to get him on to that platform I would suggest, and then he needs to go and do it.'
Mowbray also acknowledged the problems that occurred between the player and the previous incumbent. Again cleverly he managed to give a balanced appraisal of a situation without causing offence to either party or indeed without giving the red tops a headline.
Mowbray said: "I have not talked to him at all about his relationship with the last manager. I have a massive respect for Gordon and what he achieved at this club, all the trophies.
"But every manager does things differently. We all gain respect in our own way. But it's all about winning in the end and Gordon did that - whatever way he chose to get the best out of his players.
"If I do it slightly differently then it's not right or wrong, it's just my way. They all know there is a clean slate now. It's the same no matter if you are 17 or 36 - I'll be judging you as a man and as a footballer."
Tony also pointed out that Aiden has reacted really positively to the preseason chat that they had in which the manager took time to speak to Aiden and Artur Boruc seperately about the problems they had incurred during the previous season. Again, in a move that could have seen him become Koffi Annan's successor at the United Nations, he was quick to congratulate Gordon Strachan's input into the players.
He said: "I haven't seen anyone work harder than Aiden this pre-season. Same with ShaunMaloney. It's great we have two players of such imagination and quality prepared to work their socks off for the team.
"I feel lucky to inherit such class and work ethics. I haven't seen any lack of endeavour to get back and win the ball. If I felt Aiden had to work harder I would tell you.
"He has an amazing work ethic considering he has such talent. Maybe I'm getting the benefit of all Gordon's hard work because if that was a problem in Aiden's game maybe the penny has now dropped."
The boss then drew his attention to tonight's opponents as he appraised the team that he watched last weekend.
He said: "They are a very dangerous, capable side. They are organised and very well coached. I don't see any superstar footballers but I do see 11 effective players who play their shape well.
"They have good pace in wide areas and can hit you on the counter attack.They look like a team who have done a lot of work on their system and they are 15 games into their season so know what they are all about.
"It's a tough game but we have the quality,if we play to our maximum,to give them problems. We would be hopeful of coming out of the game with an advantage for the second leg.
"Having watched them I strongly believe we can give them a few problems with the players we have.
"That might be the difference between the two sides. We probably allow more freedom and individuality in our team, which can be a big positive or sometimes a negative if players aren't where they are supposed to be in certain situations.
"I watched Dynamo's game against Zenit on DVD. They won 1-0 only three weeks ago. Mr Advocaat was sitting looking uncomfortable.
"His side had more flair and yet Dynamo won because they are very hard to break down and dangerous breaking away. So it's not a foregone conclusion we will win the first leg."
A word of caution then Tony, but I just feel that you are just adding an element of balance to the interview, as I fully believe that you know that we are going to go out all guns blazing in an attempt to not only win the match, but also the entire tie!
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt
