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"The campaign has been a bit up and down for us but we know that two wins over the next week will give our qualification prospects a massive boost.
"The campaign started well insofar as we gave a good performance in Germany. We were very poor in the next game against Cyprus but we've improved since then.
"I really think that a win on Saturday against Wales could let us kick-on in the group. We've got home advantage and there's a lot of history behind Croke Park.
"This will be first international soccer game to be played there and importantly for us, we'll have twice the amount of fans in the ground cheering us on compared to Lansdowne Road."
Injury ruled the 8-times capped McGeady out of the 2-1 win in San Marino last month and he's hopeful that his inspiring displays at club level for SPL champions Celtic this season can propel him back into the starting line-up for the Welsh encounter.
"I was disappointed to miss the last game because I thought I had a good chance of starting the match in San Marino. I'm back now and injury free but you can't expect anything when it comes to team selection.
"I'm not sure what formation the manager is going to go with or who's fully fit yet. Hopefully, I'll be involved because it's a massive occasion for an Ireland team to go and play in Croke Park."
Meanwhile, Irish manager Stephen Staunton was relieved to have his full complement of 24-players in residence at the team base at Portmarnock on Wednesday.
Stephen Ireland joined up with the squad after receiving treatment at Manchester City on his ankle injury and another Cork man - Birmingham City goalkeeper Colin Doyle - arrived following his call-up to deputise for the injured Wayne Henderson.
The squad will train on Thursday in Gerry Gannon Park, Malahide, before holding their final training session at Croke Park on Friday morning.
Republic of Ireland squad: Shay Given (Newcastle United), Nicky Colgan (Barnsley), Colin Doyle (Birmingham City), Paul McShane (Wrest Brom), Richard Dunne (Manchester City), Steve Finnan (Liverpool), Ian Harte (Levante), Stephen Kelly (Birmingham City), Darren O'Dea (Celtic), John O'Shea (Manchester United), Kevin Kilbane (Wigan Athletic), Stephen Ireland (Manchester City), Lee Carsley (Everton), Jonathan Douglas (Leeds United), Aiden McGeady (Celtic), Stephen Hunt (Reading), Alan Quinn (Sheffield United), Damien Duff (Newcastle United), Darron Gibson (Royal Antwerp), Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspurs), Anthony Stokes (Sunderland), Kevin Doyle (Reading), Shane Long (Reading), Andrew Keogh (Wolves).