McGeady excited ahead of Celtic clash

Aiden McGeady will experience a “strange feeling” when he lines up for Spartak Moscow against former club Celtic in tonight’s Champions League clash.

The Russian side host the Hoops at the Luzhniki Stadium and will be eager to get their Group G campaign up and running after a 3-2 loss to Barcelona at Camp Nou.

McGeady, 26, who signed from the Parkhead club in 2010 is experiencing mixed emotions at facing the club he grew up supporting.

He said “It’ll be a strange feeling. It’ll be the first time I’ve faced Celtic. I try to catch most Celtic games on TV and I keep up to date with what’s going on online”.

I’m a Spartak player now, Of course, Celtic are the team I grew up with, the team I support and the team I grew to love, but, tomorrow night that all goes out the window.”

And McGeady admitted to a sense of excitement at the thought of playing in Glasgow. “To just be back playing at Celtic Park, for a different team, it’s going to be a great experience,”

he added “When the draw came out my phone was ringing off the hook with everyone phoning and texting me about the draw and how good it was. “But yeah, it’s going to be exciting.”

Despite speculation linking him with a move away from the Muscovites, the Scots-born Republic of Ireland international insisted he was enjoying life at Spartak.

“Everything’s going well,” he said. “I think the team is progressing well.

“We’ve got a new coach and a lot of new players and we’re starting to gel together pretty well.

“It’s going to be a difficult game for us, and, likewise, I think Celtic think the same.

“Generally, our record over the past few years hasn’t been that great at home, but, possibly, Celtic aren’t used to playing on this type of pitch [artificial surface], so it’s possibly going to be a tricky match for them.

Spartak are looking for their first points in Group G after losing 3-2 away to favourites Barcelona in their opening game.