Aiden McGeady opens up on his dream Celtic role

Aiden McGeady has opened up on his dream job of coaching players at all levels for Celtic.

The former winger was speaking on the day that reports emerged that the club is cutting back significantly at B team and youth level.

Five wasted seasons playing in the Lowland League will end at East Stirling on Saturday with almost all of the squad and u-19s players being released.

It is a monumental failing on behalf of Celtic, in the season that the white elephant of the indoor Barrowfield Training Centre was opened.

The best facilities in the world won’t make up for the complete lack of pathway in terms of playing pyramid under a coaching network that has failed to present a first team player since Kieran Tierney stepped up in season 2015/16.

McGeady is the most talented home developed talent this century.

From his primary school days it was obvious that he was a very special talent. Managing that through to senior level was the challenge.

With an u-16, u-18 and Reserve League McGeady had the pathway that recent generations of players have been denied.

From Celtic McGeady moved to Spartak Moscow, Everton, Sunderland and Hibs.

LIFE AFTER PLAYING FOR MCGEADY

In the summer of 2023 he took up an unusual job at Ayr United. Matching playing duties with that of Technical Manager.

When Scott Brown arrived as manager of Ayr in January 2024 McGeady’s playing role virtually disappeared.

In October 2024 he left the club by mutual consent. Since then his only direct role in football has been scouting Scottish football for Wigan Athletic, firstly under Shaun Maloney and now for Gary Caldwell.

McGeady has made it clear that he doesn’t want to become a manager. But some sort of role back in the game, working with players appeals to the former Irish internationalist.

A number of his former team-mates have been involved at Celtic. Maloney, Darren O’Dea and Stephen McManus but so far the call hasn’t gone out to McGeady.

41 minutes 40 seconds

FROM THE OUTSIDE LOOKING BACK IN

QUESTION: Would you be interested in going into Celtic in a coaching capacity?

Yeah, you’d have to ask the powers that be if there would be a role or not. But yeah, I’d love to, you’re talking about wingers there.

There’s things I think I could help players players on and little things in a game to coach them. Especially wingers and forwards.

Everything I could do could apply to the whole Academy. It is something that I think is needed in football.

Why would you not want to give players that you are paying a lot of money for or your Academy players every bit of help that they can get?

Lets be honest, everybody wants Academy players and young players in their first team, like when I was younger.

I’d love to do something like that, whether or not that happens remains to be seen.

It is something that I’d like to do because I feel that I’ve got too much experience and knowledge to keep it to myself and not pass it on.

I’d love to be able to help. If that was first team or B team or younger Academy I’d love to be able to help them. Not to make the mistakes that I made, help them round their game in any way possible.