Aiden McGeady has been backed to follow the Cristiano Ronaldo route to the top after adding a devastating end product to his endless supply of tricks.
Celtic winger McGeady continued his current impressive run of form with a hat-trick in Tuesday's 4-0 win over Falkirk in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.
And Republic of Ireland caretaker manager Don Givens believes the 21-year-old is delivering on the promise which he has always possessed.
Givens compared Irish star McGeady's improvement to Ronaldo's blossoming since moving from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United as an 18-year-old in 2003.
While Ronaldo is now a contender for FIFA's world player of the year prize, McGeady ripped apart Benfica in the Champions League last month and took his goals tally for the season to six with his treble against Falkirk.
Givens told the Daily Record: 'I compare him to Ronaldo when he first went to Manchester United - he wanted to do tricks rather than produce damaging stuff.
'But in the Benfica game Aiden started to produce an end product. Against Falkirk this week he again produced a magical display and more than an end product.'
Celtic assistant boss Tommy Burns is another who believes McGeady is finally producing the sparkling performances he has long been capable of.
And Burns claims McGeady's recent performances are a sign of great things to come.
Burns said: 'The last two years have seen Aiden gradually become a real talent but when I think about what he could achieve over the next four or five years it's frightening.'
