Aiden McGeady has voiced his concerns over Roberto Martinez’s candidacy for Celtic.
Martinez, the current manager of Portugal, brought McGeady to Everton from Spartak Moscow in 2014.
He made 42 appearances in three years under the Spaniard, and ended up being sent on loan to Championship sides. The pair know each other well.
Martinez has been named as a candidate for Celtic, with his pre-existing relationship with Hoops assistant Shaun Maloney a supposed factor — but McGeady has words of warning for his boyhood club.
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Aiden McGeady’s ‘difference’ in winning trophies for Roberto Martinez and Celtic
Asked on Charlie Mulgrew’s Pitch to Par if it would be a good appointment, McGeady said: “I don’t know. He’s got a lot of qualities, he’s managed at the highest level.
“Obviously, he won the FA Cup with Wigan. Listen, he could end up winning the World Cup — you never know. But I just always feel there’s that wee bit missing.
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@mulgrew_pitch_to_par McGeady’s thoughts on Martinez and the Celtic job 👀 Right fit or not? 👇️ Full episode on YouTube 📹️ Link in Bio #celticmanager#scottishfootball#celtic#martinez♬ original sound – Mulgrew Pitch To Par
“I’m not having a go at him at all, because I do think he’s a top manager… he’s a top coach anyway. It’s just that there’s a difference, isn’t there, between winning things.
“And he’s not won anything yet, has he, really? The FA Cup is an overachievement.
On his style of play, he continued: “[Everton] didn’t have to defend much. No, he actually didn’t have to defend much at all.
“He would be focused on, probably slightly like Postecoglou, in a way, I think. Well, your front three, the two wingers were high and wide at all times.
“And he is a good coach. He would actually work on training, like, you play Swansea. And he looked at Swansea, like, ‘I’ve noticed the way they play, if you can get three, four passes here in this situation, out wide, and quickly play one pass out to the other side, they’re isolated.’
“So in training, training was like based on how we’d play little games and little possessions that were like, they had those components in them.”
It’s worth noting that this was over a decade ago, and that Martinez has spent the last ten years working in international management.
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The last decade for Celtic candidate Roberto Martinez
After being sacked by Everton, Martinez made the surprise move into international football in 2016, taking charge of their ‘golden generation’ side.
Taking them over after a shock elimination to Wales at EURO 2016, he guided them to third place at the 2018 World Cup, but results were less impressive at the next two major tournaments and Martinez was sacked.
He was also a surprise pick as Portugal manager. At his first international tournament at EURO 2024, they reached the quarter-finals, being eliminated by France on penalties in the quarter-finals.
A year later, he guided them to a Nations League title, beating reigning champions Spain 5-3 on penalties. Despite this success, he is not expected to renew his contract after this summer’s World Cup.
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