Glory Hayes

On-form Jonny Hayes dazzled against Aberdeen at Hampden and is now aiming for silverware in the last stretch of the season.

- Joe Donnelly

A YEAR-and-a-half on from his horrific leg break in late 2017, Jonny Hayes is flying… flying in his career, having forced his way into Neil Lennon’s plans in recent weeks.

Flying in fitness terms, having put the heartache of being out for so long through injury behind him.

And, as was abundantly clear in Celtic’s comprehensive 3-0 Scottish Cup semi-final win over Aberdeen, he’s flying down the wing.

Hayes was in the starting XI for Sunday’s match at Hampden, and delivered a fine performance that the Hoops boss said more than justified the Irishman’s inclusion. But while always delighted to impress and play to the best of his abilities, he views his own efforts as secondary to the team’s overall output and success.

“Winning 3-0 against Aberdeen in a semi-final is a brilliant result,” said Hayes in an exclusive interview with the Celtic View. “They had a couple of men sent off, but we showed our dominance before that. We controlled the game from start to finish, Jamesy scored at a great time and then in the second half, we were dominant again.

“You might expect that given they were two men down, but I think the scoreline, with our performance and our form, would have been the same or similar had it been 11 vs 11. We had a game-plan against Aberdeen from the manager and John Kennedy, and we stuck to it from the first whistle.