“If you want to call me in for qualifiers, fine, but I wasn’t born yesterday.”
Former Ireland winger Aiden McGeady has put both Stephen Kenny and Mick McCarthy on blast in a column for the Irish Independent.
McGeady played for Ireland 93 times and also togged out for the likes of Celtic, Spartak Moscow, Everton, and Sunderland, before finishing his career two months ago with Scottish side Ayr United.
In the piece he speaks about what he felt was disrespect from then Ireland boss McCarthy. After making the initial 45-man roster for his first squad, he was then dropped, with no phone call, while other elder statesmen such as Stephen Ward, Daryl Murphy, Glenn Whelan made the cut.
When McCarthy was interested in signing the Irishman as Ipswich boss, McGeady responded by saying ‘I hope his phone still works’. Needless to say, that is where negotiations began and ended.
Aiden McGeady blasts former Ireland manager Stephen Kenny
McCarthy has gotten off lightly compared to what has been written about his successor at Ireland, Stephen Kenny.
McGeady’s ire with the manager began when Kenny questioned the level of League One compared to the Premier League, when asked whether McGeady was being considered.
With Ronan Curtis – who was playing in League One for Portsmouth at the time – called up, McGeady took offence to Kenny’s comments.
And when Kenny did want to take a look at the veteran wide man, the fact that it was for two summer friendlies did not please McGeady.
He wrote:
So I said, ‘Stephen, if you don’t know me by now you’ve not been watching because I have played over 90 times for Ireland and I have had a good season, are you calling me up or not?’
I said, ‘If you want to call me in for qualifiers, fine, but I wasn’t born yesterday. All your main squad have pulled out as it’s two pointless summer friendlies.
I’m not being the last man you phone for two summer friendlies’.
On Kenny’s Ireland possession-based tactics on the pitch, McGeady was less than impressed.
He added: “It was possession for possession’s sake, with no intent to go forward.”
