AIDEN McGeady has backed up his assertion that Celtic are the best club to continue his personal development by signing a new five-year contract.
The Republic of Ireland winger was voted Scotland's player of the year by his fellow professionals but he insists he can improve every aspect of his game and feels Gordon Strachan's coaching set-up is ideally suited to help him do so.
McGeady also
revealed his affection for Celtic and the prospect of annual Champions League football convinced him to commit himself to the club until after his 27th birthday.
However, the chances of him staying at Parkhead for the full five years of his contract could be slim if he realises his ambition of improving further.
McGeady has just enjoyed his most consistent season as he matured into the type of player his goalscoring performance as an 18-year-old debutant hinted at.
The Glasgow-born player scored eight goals and provided the main creative spark in a team that clinched a third successive title and reached the last 16 of the Champions League.
And, while his long-term deal means Celtic can look forward to a sizeable transfer fee should he move on, he barely gave a second thought to summer speculation linking him with the likes of Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland.
For while he has stated his interest in playing in England or abroad at some stage, he is convinced Parkhead is the place to be for the time being.
McGeady said: "We are playing in the Champions League every season and I'm a boyhood Celtic fan as well, so there was that lure as well. But I think just now I've got the right background to go on and progress as a player, and I can see myself doing that for the next few years, achieving even more at Celtic.
"Just now this is the right place, I don't think there was ever any chance of me leaving this summer to go to England.
"I think I have improved an awful lot but I have still got a long way to go. The mark is to do it again next season and be consistent. I have still got lots to learn and lots to improve on. I can definitely improve my goalscoring, tackling, tracking back, heading – that is probably the worst part of my game. I've still got a long way to go and Celtic is the best place to achieve all these things."
McGeady also sees potential for improvement in the team as they bid to get past the last 16 in Europe following defeats by AC Milan and Barcelona in the past two years. The 22-year-old admits it is a big relief to go straight into the group stages after Celtic needed penalties to knock out Spartak Moscow in last year's qualifiers. But he is determined to go much further.
"The majority of us have played Champions League the past two or three years and there were a few players who came in last year for their first season," McGeady said. "Now they have experienced that and have played in the last 16, it can only be good. That could benefit us now, we have players who have played at the highest level.
"The last eight is a big ask but I think we can achieve it. It was a bit unlucky last season that we got Barcelona, who I thought would go on and win it. If we got a different team in the last 16, it might be different."
Celtic take on Southampton at St Mary's tonight in Claus Lundekvam's testimonial.
The full article contains 618 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
