McGeady said his and Celtic's recent poor form was frustrating

Midfielder Aiden McGeady says the World Cup play-offs with the Republic of Ireland are a welcome distraction from Celtic's stuttering campaign.

McGeady missed a penalty in Sunday's 3-3 draw with Falkirk and Tony Mowbray's side have been criticised for some under-par displays.

"It can be a good little change because we've been taking a bit of stick," McGeady said in Dublin.

"I'm down about my penalty miss. This is a good distraction."

McGeady has travelled to Dublin ahead of Saturday's first-leg play-off against France.

Despite sitting top of the Scottish Premier League, Mowbray's Celtic side have struggled for consistency and are bottom of their Europa League section.

It's really only since the last international break that we've started to play poorly at Celtic Aiden McGeady

McGeady said he was still smarting from his penalty miss as Celtic dropped two points against the SPL basement side.

"Obviously, we had a poor performance on Sunday and coming straight into an atmosphere where everybody's buzzing, you're looking forward to the game, whereas it's not been like that in Glasgow.

"It's a game I'm looking forward to and I think everyone else in the squad is too."

McGeady said he did not let criticism get him down but he was disappointed with the level of the team's performances of late.

"I know that I've not played myself. But I don't take a great deal of notice to the stick we're getting," he revealed.

"I'm down about my penalty miss at the weekend. I think about it all the time and I'm sure a lot of players are the same.

"Whatever goes on in the papers and people talking about the team doesn't really affect me."

The midfielder also said he was keen to add to his goal tally for club and country.

"At Celtic, I've set myself a target of scoring 10-12 goals this season; I've got four so far and it should've been five after the weekend," he said.

"It's what any midfielder with aspirations to play in the top leagues has to set themselves.

"Internationally, I need to improve on that front as well.

"It's really only since the last international break that we've started to play poorly as a team at Celtic.

"Games against Motherwell and Hearts, and losing Europa League games, it's been a poor month for us."

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