McGeady an asset

Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill reckons Everton winger Aiden McGeady has the potential to become a major asset on the international stage.

The 28-year-old put in a decent first-half display in Republic of Ireland’s 2-1 friendly defeat by Turkey at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, before being withdrawn halfway through the second half as his influence waned, but O’Neill is confident there is more to come from a player he knows well from their time together at Celtic.

O’Neill: “Aiden has not played much football in the last six months. I don’t want to be an apologist for him – I think I have said this here before – I am a big fan of his in terms of ability.

“He created some beautiful moments for us, but can go for a 10 or 15-minute spell not in the game.

“Sometimes that’s not his fault; sometimes it is, and those are the type of things that I think if he can iron out, he will be an asset to us in all aspects of the game.”