MAN FOR ALL POSITIONS HAYES IS A REAL TEAM PLAYER
Dons star Hayes is a man for all positions
JONNY HAYES may be Aberdeen’s flexible friend but he admits his time at Pittodrie has taught him the importance of being a team player.
The Irishman’s versatility has been a major factor in Aberdeen’s run of five consecutive league wins for the first time in over two decades.
Brought to Pittodrie as a winger by Craig Brown, 27-year-old Hayes has also excelled at left-back and in central midfield under Derek McInnes this season.
Hayes, who this week signed a new deal that will keep him at the club until May 2018, is scoring f ewer goals than during his Inverness days but insists he has developed as an all-round footballer since moving to the Granite City.
He said: ‘ At Inverness, it was more about what I could do as an individual but the more you grow up, the more you realise it’s about the team.
‘I think I am a better player now even though I scored a lot more goals and had a few more assists in my time at Inverness.
‘I had more of a free role with Caley Thistle but I’ve made the transition to playing for a so-called bigger club.
‘I don’t think I could have played the variety of positions I have lately during that earlier phase of my career.
‘There’s no way I could have played at left-back, for example, but now I have a lot more trust from the manager.
‘ Whether i t’s away games in Europe or at the likes of Celtic Park, he is quite happy to put me on the wing, in a central area or even at full-back.
‘He knows that I am a more consistent player now and that I have matured in terms of it being more about the team.
‘There are some matches when you have to concentrate more on putting in a shift.’
“I had more of a free role at Inverness”
Hayes is determined to celebrate his new contract by making 2015 an even better one for Aberdeen than the year just ending.
The Dons ended a 19-year wait for a trophy back in March when McInnes’ side defeated Inverness Caley Thistle in the League Cup Final.
The manager’s first full season in charge also saw attendances and turnover soar, while behind the scenes Aberdeen wiped out £ 14.49million of debt and are pressing ahead with plans for a training ground and new stadium.
And the club can even start the New Year by going top of the Premiership, for a few hours at least, by beating St Johnstone at Pittodrie tomorrow.
Hayes is surprised that Aberdeen find themselves just two points behind Celtic at this stage of the season and still expects the champions to ultimately retain the trophy.
However, with the Glasgow club still competing in four different competitions, he is hoping to keep the pressure on them.
He said: ‘I would like to think it could be a better year as the aim is to get better and better.
‘It was great to win the League Cup and to get that first bit of silverware but obviously we are out of the Scottish Cup this season.
‘Hopefully, we have two games left in the League Cup and the league to focus on, while Celtic have two domestic cups and the Europa League l eaving them fighting on four fronts.
‘The aim now has to be to try and bridge the gap between ourselves and Celtic and defend our crown in the League Cup.
‘I’m surprised that we are so close to Celtic but someone was saying that we are in the second-tightest top four or five in Europe.
‘It’s surprising that Celtic have dropped so many points this season as normally you expect them to be 10 or 12 points clear by Christmas. But their focus is probably on their Europa League campaign and rightly so.
‘With the squad they have, they can afford to concentrate on that, then turn their full attention to the league in February, March time.
‘That’s when we will probably see them pull away but, for ourselves, Dundee United, Inverness and Hamilton, it’s good to still be close to them.
‘We know that the gap isn’t too much now but it’s only halfway through the season and you would expect Celtic to pull away by the end of it.
‘If we can get closer to them by then than we were at the end of last season, we will be happy.
‘The manager’s approach has always been “one game at a time” and that’s the way we always work.
‘That’s what we will continue to do and I’m sure the likes of United, Caley Thistle and Hamilton will do the same.’
Shay Logan is expected to return from injury to face St Johnstone, while McInnes i s working on extending Jeff Monakana’s loan deal from Brighton until the end of the season.
He i s also recalling Declan McManus, Joe Shaughnessy and Jamie Masson f rom l oans at Morton, Falkirk and Brechin respectively to boost his squad.