It's been a serious 12 months for Aberdeen's Jonny Hayes.
Earlier this season, Brendan Rodgers hailed the "outstanding" Dub as the only player from outside of Celtic to have staked a claim as being Scotland's Player of the Year, and just a couple of months later, he's being heavily linked with a dream move to Parkhead.
A late bloomer, he's also represented his country on three occasions, and is part of Martin O'Neill's squad for the crucial upcoming World Cup qualifier with Austria this Saturday.
It seems remarkable, then, to think that Hayes was so far removed from the upper echelons of Irish football during the Euros last summer he found himself cheering on the Boys in Green from Aberdeen's training ground.
Speaking to John Fallon in The Irish Examiner, Hayes recalled how he made a bit of a mess as Robbie Brady nodded home his famous winner against Italy in Lille:
I’ll never forget that moment. We were in training at St Andrews’s and I had just got a club sandwich and Diet Coke delivered to the room when Robbie scored the winner. I was there by myself, but ended up jumping on the bed spilling Coke everywhere.
I didn’t really get much support from the rest of the Aberdeen lads, considering we qualified for the Euros instead of Scotland.
Hayes also commented on his prospective move to Brendan Rodgers' Invincibles, with Championship clubs also circling this summer.
His focus, however, is on finishing a rather extraordinary season on a high this Saturday, and then enjoying a holiday with his family.
I just wanted to finish the season out with Aberdeen and there’s been a few things developing recently.
I have to take the interest as a compliment, because it means I’m doing something right. I can’t allow it distract me, though. This 362-day season for me finishes on Sunday with the Austria game. After that, I’ll be keeping my promise of bringing my son to Disneyland in Paris and then onto my next move.
You can read Hayes' full interview in The Irish Examiner.
