There’s something Aiden McGeady wants to make clear.

At 36, and having spent much of his brief spell at Hibs on the treatment table, he’s worried the watching world might think he’s come back to Scotland for a slow wind down to retirement. But as the veteran winger rolled back the years in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Motherwell, his first Premiership start in over a decade, it quickly became apparent he’s not quite done yet.

McGeady’s senior CV stretches back to a Celtic debut in 2004, since spanning eight clubs and a four-year stint in Russia. These past few months, though? Among the toughest of his entire career.

It seems unthinkable given how seamlessly he slotted into a Hibs side in desperate need of that weekend victory, but so painful was his struggle with a recurring knee problem, McGeady gave serious consideration to calling it a day. It’s amazing what (almost) 90 minutes can do for you, though.

“It was my first game in the league here for more than 12 years,” McGeady said. “It’s not that I feel I’ve got something to prove, it’s just that I’ve not played so long I feel I owe the club and the fans something.

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“I feel people might think I've just up come here for the last couple of years of my career. That’s not the case at all. I still love playing football and I still feel I have something to offer.

“The injury really set me back a lot, because it was a recurrence of the same one from last season. There’s nothing worse than being injured. The last four or five months have been some of the worst of my career.

“I actually contemplated just packing it in completely. I thought, ‘I’m never going to get over this’. But it’s all worth it when you have days like Sunday, when you are out there enjoying playing football again and showing you can make a difference.

“It was just about getting over the pain in my knee. We took it really cautiously this time. At Sunderland I rushed back and had two or three setbacks.

“I was more cautious this time. There must have been people thinking, ‘he’s up here for a jolly, or to top up his pension’, whatever they want to say.

“I absolutely wasn’t. I still love playing football and I want to do well for this club.”