HAYES HAPPY IN THE BHOY ZONE
“I am happy so far. I have had enough time on the pitch”
JONNY HAYES’ last League Cup experience at Celtic Park lasted the sum total of seven seconds, yet gave him memories which will last a lifetime.
Nursing a dislocated collarbone for the remainder of Aberdeen’s Cup final triumph over Inverness three years ago, the winger’s mental anguish at being rendered powerless to influence proceedings on the park was every bit the equal of his physical discomfort.
‘It was straight from kick-off,’ the Dubliner grimaced as he recalled an awkward fall.
‘I knew I had hurt it straight away. I tried to carry on and close down David Raven but I could feel my collarbone popping in and out. I knew something was wrong even though I’d never had that type of injury before. There was no point in us being a man down.’
Sitting on the sidelines for the remainder of the 120 minutes plus penalties, Hayes watched a game almost paralysed by tension. While many a neutral observer might have reached for the off button to end the tedium, those closely involved in the high-stakes shoot-out were consumed only by its outcome.
The record books do not show that Aberdeen prevailed in a fairly gruesome contest. Only that they did so.
For the Dons players tasked with ending an 18-year wait for silverware, the end was always going to justify the means.
‘There were a lot of painkillers involved plus I’d a few beers on the bus as well, so I wasn’t feeling much pain,’ smiled Hayes.
‘That was probably even more so because of the adrenalin of getting our hands on the trophy.
‘It wasn’t a great game to watch but getting our hands on the trophy was the most important thing. Luckily, it was light and small enough to lift it with one hand.
‘I woke up the next morning and was in a little bit of pain, so I went for an X-ray. A few days later the painkillers wore off and I had to get used to life in a sling. The bone had come out rather than going in which is apparently a good thing. The physio told me I got a little bit lucky. If I got to the final here I’d take the same again.’
Three years on from that momentous day, Hayes hopes to play a more central role in Celtic’s defence of the trophy they claimed by beating the Irishman’s former club last November.
Life as a Celtic player was never going to be a carbon copy of that which he enjoyed at Aberdeen. Very much the star man at Pittodrie, Hayes had to steel himself to battle for every opportunity at his new club.
One start in his first five outings thus far has come as little surprise to him.
Were his name to be in the side which sets out against Kilmarnock this evening, the 30-year-old will fully appreciate the importance of grasping it.
‘I knew that before I signed. I knew the challenge that was ahead of me,’ he insisted.
‘I knew the calibre of player that was here from playing against them, so I knew I was never going to walk into the team and I never expected to.
‘I’m happy with how things are going. I’ve been on the pitch enough to be happy. We’ve started well after last season and it’s always going to be difficult to break into the team. But there are so many games and the manager will no doubt rotate the squad.
‘So you have to keep on your toes. I saw how Emilio (Izaguirre) prepared. Every day I saw him here he was running and keeping himself ticking over. The manager has said that’s the way you need to be. You have to be ready to come in at any given time. I think back to the League Cup final when KT
(Kieran Tierney) got injured in training the week before and Emilio came in and had a great game. ‘It’s about having the kind of mentality to keep yourself right. You need to be prepared to start and finish every single game here. It’s something the manager and his staff are very forceful with.’
Reverting to the role of a squad player hasn’t been the only change in Hayes’ life of late. Leaving a one-team city for one wracked by division necessitates common sense being applied to every waking moment of his life.
Refreshingly, though, the Glasgow Hayes has encountered so far has been far removed from the bleak picture depicted by many.
‘I’ve not really been out much due to pre-season and having a lot of games,’ continued the Dubliner. ‘But, in the odd time I’ve been out and about, both sides of the Old Firm have been brilliant and welcoming which was maybe surprising.’
The reception he receives from Aberdeen fans on October 25 will be telling. Even after completing a move to his boyhood heroes this summer, Hayes was at pains to tell how much Aberdeen had meant to him. Now, as he enters the dressing room at Celtic Park, images of the celebrations that followed that famous triumph three years ago fill his mind.
‘We were in the home dressing room that day,’ he said. ‘I remember because the ice baths were really cold. You never forget where the celebrations were.
‘When I go in now and see where I was after the game, where I was sitting is where Scott Brown now sits. A few years ago I was sitting there with Aberdeen. Little things like that you remember.’