According to captain Scott Brown, all the Parkhead players wants Aiden McGeady to stay at the club. Speculation about McGeady's future has dominated the build-up to the Hoops' season, with several clubs thought to be willing to pay for his services. Despite acknowledging McGeady would enhance any league in the world, Brown is desperate for him to still be at Parkhead when the transfer window closes. Brown said: "I think everyone in the dressing room wants him to stay. Aiden's a fantastic player. I think he'd fit in well to any Premier League team as well. If he goes, we wish him all the best, but we hope he stays." McGeady was included in the side which secured a 2-2 draw against Lyon in the Emirates Cup. This was McGeady's first appearance in a Hoops jersey since May. In the hour that he played, he managed to show glimpses of the talent that have seen Spartak Moscow make a bid - said to be in the region of £9.5million - for his signature and may have increased the interest already shown by Aston Villa and Tottenham. Brown said: "He's a huge player for us, he's great, he's talented, can create chances and score goals. We've maybe missed that in the last couple of games but you've seen over the last four or five seasons he's played for Celtic, he's been frightening. He creates chances from nothing."
Brown himself did not manage to complete the 90 minutes yesterday at the Emirates Stadium after a hefty challenge with Kim Kallstrom. He played down the knock and praised his team-mates for the late comeback which secured a draw. He said: "I thought the lads played really well second half. They kept the ball and created a few chances, which is all good." Brown singled out the display of James Forrest, who laid on a debut goal for Gary Hooper. He said: "Great goal. Wee James has done brilliant as well. I thought he deserved man of the match. He played well for the whole 90 minutes."
Brown believes the performance in London and draw against last season's Champions League semi-finalists allows the players and fans to have some belief ahead of Wednesday night's third qualifying round second leg against Braga where they need to overturn a 3-0 deficit. Brown said: "It gives us a bit of confidence as well and shows that we can create chances. We've got a great chance, I think, especially at home as well. If we get the crowd behind us, it's like a 12th man. We need to do it for the fans. They come week in, week out, just to watch us and we've got to give them something back."
According to captain Scott Brown, all the Parkhead players wants Aiden McGeady to stay at the club. Speculation about McGeady's future has dominated the build-up to the Hoops' season, with several clubs thought to be willing to pay for his services. Despite acknowledging McGeady would enhance any league in the world, Brown is desperate for him to still be at Parkhead when the transfer window closes. Brown said: "