Charlton Athletic defender Adam Matthews has backed Aiden McGeady to be a success for the Addicks following the midfielder's full debut against Blackburn over the weekend.

The South London side signed McGeady on a loan deal from Sunderland until the end of the season during the final week of the January transfer window, but the winger could not help his new team-mates to victory during his first start for the club.

Lee Bowyer's men crashed to a 2-0 defeat against Blackburn at The Valley with John Buckley and Tosin Adarabiyo on target for the visitors, with McGeady featuring for 69 minutes of the clash before he was replaced by Macauley Bonne.

McGeady's temporary switch to join the Addicks has seen him reunited with former Sunderland team-mate Matthews, and the right-back has now sung McGeady's praises during an interview with London News Online.

“He is similar to [Stewart] Downing – he has played at a high level his whole career,” said Matthews.

“That can only help as we’ve got a young squad.

“You saw glimpses today of what he can do. He’s a bit low on game time but I’m sure that will come in the next few matches.”

Matthews has become a regular in the Charlton side after starting their last eight Championship matches, and he will provide a familiar face for McGeady who is still finding his feet after making his second Addicks outing during the Rovers loss.

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The Verdict

It certainly seemed like a risk when Charlton decided to sign McGeady back in January despite his lack of recent game time for Sunderland, but the 33-year-old does provide an experienced option for Bowyer in the South London side's midfield.

It can only be a good thing for McGeady to be deployed from the start of matches in order to help increase his fitness level, but it seems that Bowyer must carefully manage his game time in order to get the very best out of him.

I would expect McGeady to become a regular starter for Charlton as Bowyer will know that he has a real player on his hands if he can help the Irishman re-discover the form that saw him earn such plaudits in League One last term.