Our Celtic bust-up was infamous but I am now willing to bury the hatchet on it (2025)

Gordon Strachan is keen to make peace with Aiden McGeady and insists he has 'nothing against' the former winger despite their high-profile bust-up nearly 17 years ago

Gordon Strachan has revealed he is willing to sit down with Aiden McGeady and put an end to their long-running Celtic feud.

Former winger McGeady was handed his debut by previous Hoops boss Martin O'Neill in 2004 but it wasn't until Strachan's arrival a year later that he became a mainstay in the starting line-up.

The 93-time Republic of Ireland cap helped Celtic clinch three league titles on the bounce between 2005 and 2008 but quickly found himself at odds with Aberdeen and Scotland legend Strachan following an infamous bust-up with his manager in the aftermath of a 1-1 draw with Hearts in December 2008, which was the final straw in an already strained relationship.

As a consequence of his actions, Strachan handed Mcgeady a two-week suspension and a hefty fine. Despite an initial objection from his agent, the player ultimately accepted the punishment.

Although the complete breakdown in their relationship threatened to bring an end to McGeady's career at Parkhead, he remained a regular starter in the team and went onto play a starring role in the League Cup final victory over Rangers in March 2009.

The Glasgow-born wide man even outlasted his manager in Glasgow's East End. After missing out on the league title to their bitter city rivals, Strachan called it quits in the dugout at the end of that season and McGeady went onto play one more year with the Hoops before sealing a £9.5million move to Russian outfit Spartak Moscow.

And while the duo have never seen eye to eye since their much-talked-about quarrel, Strachan has called on McGeady - who hung up his boots after a spell with Ayr United last season - to join him for a cup of tea so they can bury the hatchet once and for all 17 years on.

Speaking to the Scottish Sun, the 68-year-old said: "Aiden was a great football player. People say I didn’t get on well with him and I get that.

"But I played him every week because he was a great football player and he worked hard and all the rest of it. I didn’t get on with him and he didn’t get on with me.

"Did I see a bit of me in him, I don’t know. Maybe. I could look in the mirror and say, ‘What are you doing?’ Maybe it was a bit of that.

"I’d love to sit down with him and have a cup of tea with him, which hopefully we will do. We’ve bumped into each other now and then. It’s not a case of it being a summit meeting or anything like that.

"But he was a fantastic, fantastic footballer. He worked hard and won games for us.

"I remember the League Cup final and Rangers thought we were going to play Giorgios Samaras and big Jan Vennegoor of Hessselink up front.

"These two, I loved. I would have taken them to a dinner party. If either of them brought my daughter home I would have thought, ‘smashing.’

"But if it was Scott McDonald and Aiden McGeady brought home I’d have thought, ‘oh no, you’re not bringing them in the house!’ I played those two in that game and they were fantastic that day.

"But I don’t like not getting on with people. Over 50 years, there are probably two or three people I know that I wouldn’t like to be I the same room as.

"And Aiden definitely isn’t one of them. Absolutely not."