Euro 2012: McGeady improvement encourages Ireland

Republic of Ireland possess three obvious heroes in the rarely beaten Shay Given, block-smith defender Richard Dunne and eternal international goal-getter Robbie Keane, but with Damien Duff getting on, there isn't a standout star linking defence and attack.

The man who should fill that void is Aiden McGeady, easily one of the nation's most gifted players. However, despite accumulating 48 caps in his eight-year international career, the Glasgow-born winger hasn't performed to his full potential often enough.

That is why with James McClean emerging from nowhere at Sunderland as the best Irish performer in the Premier League this season, it was the 26-year-old McGeady rather than the 33-year-old Duff whose place was perceived to be in greater jeopardy.

Roy Keane and Andy Townsend both criticised the former Celtic man, who endured a testing second season with Spartak Moscow which did at least finish strongly, and when McClean started ahead of him in last week's friendly with Bosnia, it appeared that Giovanni Trapattoni agreed.

Yet despite McClean getting off to an impressive start, McGeady was unflustered and when brought on for the second half produced perhaps his best display for his country, setting up the winner and countless other opportunities, as well as hitting the woodwork.

The question now is whether he can sustain it, because while Ireland have shown that they have the organisation and defensive strength to stifle big teams, they may need to beat Spain or Italy to qualify for the quarter-finals 5.14/1, and that requires the injection of a bit of magic.

A chance to see whether that Bosnia showing was a one-off or a sign of things to come is presented on Monday when they face Hungary in Budapest in their final game before facing Croatia.

They are formidable hosts, with the Netherlands the only of their last nine visitors to triumph, but with Trapattoni's side undefeated in 13 matches, they will be eager not to squander that momentum right before the tournament, pointing to the draw as a good bet at 3.39/4.