AS TIME RAN out in Tbilisi, Aiden McGeady was an unlikely hero.

Anyone who knows the winger knows his enigmatic flourishes, as likely to concede possession cheaply as he is to turn his opposite number inside out.

Even his most blinkered supporters would hesitate before backing him as the man to deliver a moment of game-changing magic. The numbers — three goals in 69 senior caps prior to the start of qualifying — only strengthen that argument.

But after giving Ireland the lead against Georgia with a cool finish in the first half, McGeady offered us a glimpse of the natural dynamite we know he possesses but so rarely see. His 90th-minute winner, a beautiful drag-back followed by a curling finish across the goalkeeper, was up there with the best ever scored in green.

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A few days earlier, McGeady delivered an obvious creative boost when he came off the bench for the final half-hour against Oman.

“He’s one of very few players in the game that can take people on and actually make something happen,” Martin O’Neill said at Tuesday’s squad announcement.

“Of course the first few times he got the ball against Georgia, he gave it away. He came inside, made a little run, played a little pass and Georgia came straight on the attack – twice it happened.

But the great thing about him is he didn’t get his head down, it didn’t seem to affect him.

The suspicion has long been that McGeady is a confidence player, a livewire who sparks when the going is good.

O’Neill knows him better than most. After all, he was Celtic manager when McGeady made his senior debut at the age of 18 back in 2004.

“Within a year he played amazingly brilliantly against AC Milan one night where you felt the world was at his feet.

He lost his way a little bit, and maybe confidence or lack of it has played some part in that, but you wouldn’t think to speak to him that he lacked confidence.

On this particular occasion O’Neill’s high praise was prompted by questions from the media, but he clearly understands the importance of managing McGeady.

“I think his confidence is high. You have to keep praising him as well, I know that. Most people like it.

He has the ability to go past players and make something happen for us. With respect to us, we haven’t got too many in the team who can do that.

“If you’re speaking to him, you wouldn’t think that he lacks confidence. He has great ability and natural talent up with the very, very best.”

His return to the Premier League, where he is starting to shine under Roberto Martinez, is paying dividends too.

In delivering three points against Georgia, McGeady showed that he is equally as dangerous when allowed to drift inside off his wing — maybe even more so.

O’Neill praised that versatility: “He starts off wide right for Everton in the games he has played and then can shift infield.

“He can play in a number of positions and it’s great to have that ability.

“Sometimes you think if he’s not getting a kick of the ball out wide, that ability might be wasted if he’s not in the middle.

I think he can adapt, I think he’s got the ability, I think now he’s got the confidence and is playing more regularly than he has done for some time.

“I think his Russian experience eventually will hopefully stand him in good stead. At the end of the day he’s playing back home where people can see him.

“He sees himself as a proper player and I think he’s so important for us.”

Would Ireland get better use out of McGeady as a number 10?