Hayes, Jonny

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Personal

Fullname: Jonathan Hayes
aka: Jonny Hayes, Johnny Hayes
Born: 9 July 1987
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Signed: 16 June 2017 (est £1.3m from Aberdeen)
Left: 30 May 2020 (free)
Position: Midfielder, Winger; Utility Player – Defender, Left-back
Debut: Linfield 0-2 Celtic, Champions League Qualifier, 14 Jul 2017
Squad No.: 15
Internationals: Ireland
International Caps: 4 [complete at end of career]
International Goals: 0 [complete at end of career]

Biog

In the season prior to his arrival, three of the shortlist for the Scottish player of the year awards were Celtic players, the fourth was Jonny Hayes, and so now intriguingly he was on Celtic’s books.

A strong stout looking player, it was hoped he could provide some variety up front for Celtic alongside the others, and so bolster the squad. Cynics say Celtic were weakening Aberdeen, but that was little convincing. It was never going to be easy to challenge to get into the first team but rotation would help him get his chances, and as he had proven at Aberdeen he had a good eye for goals.

The Irishman was to have one of the most explosive fixtures as for his competitive debut, as Celtic were to face Northern Irish side Linfield in the Champions League qualifiers. There was only a limited number of Celtic supporters (officially) present as the club opted out of an allocation due to potential trouble (the match in Northern Ireland was around the July 12th marches). Celtic went on to win comfortably with thankfully no major problems in the stands or elsewhere.

The biggest problem for Jonny Hayes was that he had joined a club with an incredibly richly talented squad let alone just the First XI. Trying to compete to win a place in a side with Sinclair, Griffiths and Dembele was no easy task. Hayes was actually brought in to possibly help fill in the gap left by the popular Paddy Roberts, but then Paddy Roberts returned on loan and it was again Forrest and Roberts competing for the role on wide right, both highly impressing.

So effectively he was no longer a top dog but a squad reserve player. He was now being judged against a higher benchmark than before and it was a hard one to match.

He finally broke his duck, ironically against Aberdeen in December 2017, but he deserved the moment. You couldn’t fault his effort. As Brendan Rodgers put it wonderfully for him:

“When you’re an Irishman and you get your first goal for Celtic, it runs deep. This is a special day for him and his family.”

If the gods were toying with him, straight off in the next game he was hacked badly and out for a number of matches. It was a cruel touch.

Following that injury, he was to end up out for the rest of that season, and thereafter his chances all but disappeared with only the odd appearance on the bench and on the field. He got to play his small part with the first team, but Celtic were stretching ahead. Even though Celtic had hit some troughs during his time at the club, there was little call or belief that Hayes would have been the solution.

He played well when he had chances, but also showed that he probably didn’t have quick enough feet to make it in this team. He could be very slow in the turn, and struggled with quick passes other than in the direction he was facing. He was a little out of his depth especially as players like Forrest and others were showing greater form.

However, there was little angst against him, and there was a lot of sympathy, if not patience, which was a rare gift to any struggling player. He never complained but seemed to respect the opportunities when they came, and tried his best. That is worthy of respect.

He was used when possible, especially once injuries kicked in for Tierney. Hayes was back starting as a filler as left-back due to squad injuries v St Johnstone in a 5-0 victory in the Scottish Cup in February 2019. He had a great game and set up the second goal with all very impressed with his game but awarded a yellow card for a needless foul.

He was dropped for the following game at home v Valencia lost 2-0, and many felt that Celtic would have done far better if he had played and not Izaguirre, as seemed to be proven when he had a great game v Kilmarnock a few days later, and then had a great performance v Valencia away. He was proving his worth and his work rate was excellent, despite being played well out of position. You had to admire him.

Surprise pick for a start v Sevco in March 2019, a match that in practise effectively sealed the league title. He was picked ahead of Burke, Sinclair and Weah to everyone’s surprise, and to much criticism. Yet he had an excellent first half, before being subbed off at half-time following an unnecessary yellow card in the first half. Then as Celtic had a poor second half, interim manager Neil Lennon was criticised for having taken him off! It was comical but in many ways was a positive for Hayes. Still, he went on to play in the Scottish Cup final later on, and deservedly so. Celtic were to seal the Treble-Treble with that incredible victory, nine domestic trophies in a row.

Neil Lennon was definitely very sympathetic and willing to use Hayes whenever possible, and the faith in him was returned in genuine effort by Hayes.

Jonny Hayes finest moment on a personal basis came in September 2019. Celtic were playing away to Sevco, who the media had built up as practically favourites. Celtic dominated, with Hayes subbed on and scoring the second goal in a 2-0 victory that sealed the victory. He took it well with his first chance in this injury time effort to have been saved but he scored with the rebound, and made no mistake. It really set the tone for Celtic. The wonderful irony of the moment was as it came just a week after Sevco had been charged TWICE for ‘Racist chanting’ [i.e. against Irish] at away games in Europe and were ordered by UEFA to close areas for minimum 3000 seats. Scoring this goal at Ibrox capped off it all off brilliantly.

He followed this up with some fine further performances, including playing in both of the key victories over Lazio in the Europa League, which included the first time a Scottish club had ever won a match away in Italy in a competitive match. There were some very big concerns playing him v Lazio away, but after a shaky start he had a great game and all applauded him.

However, COVID-19 hit in March 2020, and the season was annulled early. Celtic were heading for the treble for the fourth season in a row, and had to settle initially for the league title in the league with the final 8 league matches cancelled with the league cup already in the bag. Well deserved but with the financial hit, changes were needed, and this meant that the ageing Jonny Hayes at 32, one of those freed. Hard decisions had to be made, and few disagreed, but all did wish him very well as he was well liked.

He was one of those players who really showed that playing for Celtic meant something to him. Jonny Hayes lived the dream, gave everything and made a great contribution over the three years, and overcame a horrific injury too. No denying that it wasn’t a transfer that wholly worked out, but had its highlights.

Jonny Hayes might not be the most gifted footballer in the world, but he gave everything he had for Celtic.

We wished him the best.

Post-Celtic

He went on to have a long decent career with Aberdeen, and was always warmly received whenever Aberdeen visited Celtic Park.

He retired from play in the summer of 2024, and to the welcome surprise of everyone he returned to Celtic to take up a coaching role with Celtic’s youth academy.

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Quotes

“When I was talking to my wife about my options, she knew that my heart was set on Celtic.”
Jonny Hayes (June 2017)

“When you’re an Irishman and you get your first goal for Celtic, it runs deep. This is a special day for him and his family.”
Brendan on Jonny Hayes (Dec 2017)

“From the lows of breaking a leg to the highs of winning a treble, the last 3 years have been an enjoyable journey, in which I’ve worked under some terrific staff and shared a dressing room with some unbelievable guys! “Football at times brings tough decisions, so I’d like to thank you for all the support received along the way! Stay safe everyone!”
Jonny Hayes signing off message to the support (May 2020)

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Playing Career

Honours with Celtic

• 2017-18, 2019-20

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Pictures

• Player Pics

KDS

• First Thread

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Articles

Jonny Hayes 25 Jun 2017

BRENDAN RODGERS reckons Jonny Hayes’ career got lost.

But the Celtic boss never gave up hope of finding him.

Rodgers took Hayes to Reading as a youngster before he moved on to Chelsea.

For years he considered signing him again but it never quite happened.

Now at Celtic, Rodgers has snapped up the winger in a £1.3million deal from Aberdeen — and the Hoops boss couldn’t be happier with his arrival.

He said: “I was delighted we were able to get Jonny in. He was a young player I knew from back when he was just 15 or 16.

“Funnily enough he was ready to come to Celtic at that time.

“He had a number of offers, like Manchester City and others. But we got to hear about him quite late on and he was so refreshing.

“He was a player you could see had come into football late.

“But he just played with a freedom. And what he had was this real hunger and drive.

“He had attributes I really like. He was fast, he was powerful and he was hungry. Not only that, he was a worker. So I was delighted when we were able to tempt him to come to Reading.

“Celtic was a big draw for him then but we were able to talk him out of coming here. Unfortunately for Jonny, probably, I only stayed at Reading for 13 or 14 months and then I went to Chelsea.

“He probably didn’t quite push on to what I thought he could at Reading. He got lost a little bit in his career before coming to Scotland.

“When I was watching him play for Inverness I was thinking about taking him to Swansea. At that time I had Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer and I wanted another one to come in.

“I then went on to Liverpool and he wasn’t on my radar, but I always watched to see how he was doing. And I’ve got to say, that since he’s gone to Aberdeen, in the last four years he’s got better and better each season.

“It’s a great credit to himself — and also Derek McInnes and his staff — how well he’s developed. I felt that last year he was the most dangerous player that I’d faced by a country mile.

“And I felt that he was someone with hunger, someone who is coachable and has the skillset to play around five positions really well. He’s got experience so when you think of our main objectives — to dominate Scottish football and make improvements in Europe — then for me he can do both of those.”

Hayes, at 29, is at the peak of his career.

At his unveiling last week he spoke of how he feared the chance of a big club move had passed him by.

But that only makes him more determined to grab his chance.

And, as a Celtic supporter, Rodgers reckons the winger will give his LIFE to the club.

He added: “He’s just broken into the international scene with the Republic of Ireland.

“So I think — with him at 29, he’s still very fit and very strong — he’s a fantastic signing for us. He’s one who will really get the supporters up off their seat in a different way to young Pat Roberts.

“Pat was a dribbler who could beat people. Jonny is about pace, about power, but what he always does is face people up — and one-to-one he’s exceptional on the left side or the right side.

“So I think the supporters are going to really take to him. He’ll give his life, he’s a Celtic guy.

“His family are Celtic and I sometimes feel when you have those types about you maybe get that little extra one or two per cent.

“He’s at that age where he can really look forward to it. He won’t be pressurised by it. It’s my job to try and lift that from him, because of course there’s always pressure playing for Celtic.

“But I’ve brought him in here for a purpose and a reason. We’ll bring in a few players but we don’t need quantity this season, we need quality.

“And I wouldn’t have brought Jonny in if I didn’t think he could add to what we’ve got. We played 60-odd games last season and we’re going to lose some players from within the squad who’ll want to go and get more games somewhere else.

“But it’s important we keep the squad strong so that if one player comes out another can go straight in.

“And Jonny is absolutely perfect for our squad.”
https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/hayes-has-been-a-long-term-project/