Aiden McGeady takes personally last season's accusations that Celtic were not entertaining enough. The aesthetic merits of their season became a talking point even though actions, at home and abroad, spoke louder than words.

SWITZERLAND

AIDEN McGeady takes personally last season's accusations that Celtic were not entertaining enough.

The aesthetic merits of their season became a talking point even though actions, at home and abroad, spoke louder than words.

Gordon Strachan was almost apologetic about the lack of gusto in the final throes of a campaign that nevertheless culminated in a league and Tennent's Scottish Cup double and the distinction of rejoining European football's elite in the latter stages of the Champions League.

Alas, even this did little to appease the Parkhead purists. McGeady, as one of the club's most naturally gifted players, was implicated. Of Strachan's attacking artillery, only Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink could be absolved, although the Dutchman's own return was undoubtedly diminished by a variety of injuries.

"The fans have not been happy with the style of football for the last six months and we are trying to improve that," said McGeady. "When I watched Celtic not so long ago, when Henrik Larsson was here, we used to beat teams by four and five. We struggled to do that last season and I thought to myself this isn't quite right'.

"If you look at it in terms of results, we had a great season but even when Larsson and Chris Sutton were here people criticised the style of football, so you can't please everyone."

As Celtic undertook day one of an extensive and exhaustive pre-season regime, at their tranquil base on the lip of the Thunersee, overlooking the alpine splendour of Mount Niesen, McGeady spoke candidly about his increased responsibilities and his role within a more expressive and expansive midfield that will now accommodate Scott Brown and Massimo Donati.

"There are always areas I can improve on and if I'm honest my form wasn't great for the last five or six games of last season," he said. "Towards the end of the season people said the football we played wasn't great but we have new additions and may change our style to be more attractive."

It remains doubtful if McGeady's remit will alter significantly, despite his wish to perform more frequently as a central playmaker, a position in which he revelled on no less daunting a stage than the San Siro against AC Milan. Regardless of positional subtleties, he has challenged himself, however, to add the kind of goalscoring threat from midfield that distinguished predecessors such as Stilian Petrov and Alan Thompson.

"One of the main things is I need to start scoring more goals," he said. "Double figures would be a realistic target and if I can do that every season then I would be making a real contribution. We scored fewer goals than the season before so the situation has to be addressed and I hope to do my bit to improve."

McGeady was a more regular finisher at youth level, a feature that gave way when he was elevated to first-team status and shunted wide left so as not to expose a frail-looking physique to the rigours of the SPL. He has since worked with the club's fitness coach, Jim Henry, to improve his strength.

"I am creating more goals because I am playing out wide but I scored quite regularly in the reserves mainly because I played through the middle," he said. "I am not an orthodox wide player. I suppose it was easier to push me out wide because I was quite skinny but I'm not an 18-year-old any more and I am not a little boy. I'm not saying I don't want to play out wide. I'm fine with it. I just want to play more centrally in future. I have gotten stronger but there is no point in doing too many weights in case I lose my speed."

McGeady's maturity of late is as much mental as physical. There is a natural confidence in the 21-year-old's make-up which, with his quiet and even dour demeanour, can be misinterpreted as arrogance.

His top-flight career, barely three years old, has been eventful. He caused controversy for electing to represent the Republic of Ireland over Scotland, a decision based in part on summer visits to his grandparents in Donegal.

McGeady's relationship with the manager has been fractious, too, not least in the weeks preceding the awarding of a new long-term contract. Strachan likes his players pliable and receptive and at times found McGeady a little too cocksure for his liking. And then there was the Lennon incident. The captain erupted with frustration at McGeady after a breakdown in possession cost Celtic a goal against Dunfermline at East End Park, only to find the youngster gave as good as he got.

"If I feel I'm right I will try to put over my point, even if I turn out to be wrong sometimes," he said with a smile. "Yeah it was heated but more so him than me. Whoever replaces him has a tough act to follow. He would always be the first to give me encouragement if I made a mistake or two and my head went down but he would also be first to shout at me."

Lennon's departure to Nottingham Forest signified the end of an era at Parkhead. Now Strachan hopes similarly strong characters will emerge from Lennon's shadow, an invitation McGeady is willing to accept. "We did lose personalities like Thompson, Hartson and Petrov and they were in their mid-to-late-20s. Hopefully I can be a big personality in this team."