AIDEN McGEADY is stealing himself for a torrent of abuse when he returns to Celtic Park with the Republic of Ireland tomorrow to face Scotland.

But the Glasgow-born winger's Everton team-mate Steven Naismith has no fears the former Hoops hero will be spooked by this treatment.

Rather, Naisy is more worried McGeady could have the final say in this crunch qualifier - just as he did when the Republic won in Georgia, when he scored twice, including a stunning winner.

The last thing Naismith wants is for the Irish to have a repeat of this late show tomorrow - not least because this would give McGeady the bragging rights when they get back to Goodison next week.

The man who has become such an important part of Gordon Strachan's side said: "I don't want Aiden to have the last word.

"Hopefully, we are comfortable and it doesn't come down to being that tight towards the end.

"But if it does I'm confident we can and will defend as a team and as a unit and do things right.

"We know they have a lot of threat throughout their team. It is not just Aiden, Robbie Keane, and guys like that. It's all the way through their side.

"Neither is it just going to be in the last 10 minutes we have to be on our guard. It's throughout the game. We really have to be aware of them all and all of the time."

While Scotland have made huge strides under Strachan, they have yet to convert their consistently-improving form into goals.

They have found the net only four times in their win over Georgia, draw with Poland and defeat to Germany. So if they are leading going into the closing stages tomorrow, chances are it will not be by much.

Naismith is confident they have the structure and discipline to see the game through, even against a side who can never be counted out.

"We do have to be aware of Ireland's record of scoring goals late in games," he said. "They have been doing it on a regular basis.

"But, as a squad, we have tightened up this aspect of our game up.

"Against Georgia, they had just one chance in the second half when we were leading 1-0. Near the end, they went more direct, but we defended well.

"That wasn't a one-off. If you look at the Poland friendly in March, when we won 1-0, we were under a lot of pressure then, too.

"The biggest thing from that game was the fact we defended fantastically well, and this is something we are proud of as a team."

Naismith is banking on the Tartan Army helping them get the victory which would put them level on points with the Irish.

He is looking forward to returning to the ground he could have called home had he elected to join Strachan's Celtic rather than move from Kilmarnock to Rangers.

It is not something Naisy will dwell on tomorrow and said: "I had a fantastic career at Rangers, where I had my best memories as a player. That's the choice I made, and one I stand by.

"It's maybe why I got the kind of reception I did when I played at Celtic Park for Rangers, but that's part and parcel of football."