Jonny Hayes enjoyed playing against ‘electric’ Celtic star as he warns defenders of what to expect from attacker

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Jonny Hayes has come up against some of the biggest and best Scottish football has had to offer.

The former Celtic player has had tough times facing off against his old club during spells with Aberdeen as well as with Inverness CT and been directly against top wide players.

The likes of Jota, Tom Rogic and others have given Hayes torrid times but the Irishman has always enjoyed the scrap and the on-field battle of attrition.

The latter point was particularly applicable for Hayes when squaring off against Parkhead’s buzzbomb Daizen Maeda, who hit another brace in Celtic’s 5-1 hammering of Aberdeen last night in Premiership action.

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Jonny Hayes loved playing against Celtic’s Daizen Maeda

Again, the 37-year-old ex-full-back always relished the challenge.

Working on his Sky Sports punditry duties during yesterday evening’s clash in Glasgow, Hayes was full of praise for Maeda.

And he insisted defenders who don’t know much about the Celt before they arrive to face him will never forget him after they leave, often exhausted as he never stops running.

“He’s always electric in and around the opposition’s box. He always reacts first. Maeda is always alive,” Hayes said at half-time after Maeda had opened the scoring and before he would finish it, too.

“I always like playing against him. He’s always alive and he doesn’t stop for 90 minutes.

“You’ve got to expect that as a defender and we talked about the unknown of defenders coming in and not knowing what he’s like in and around the box.”

How Maeda’s Celtic stats compare through the years

Neil Lennon also hailed Maeda and explained how even just a year ago he would have struggled to name the 27-year-old as a key player for the league leaders.

The attacker has stepped up significantly for Brendan Rodgers and his side with a mammoth goals and assists tally this term compared to his own previous years.

The brace versus the Dons was yet another example of Maeda’s talent to play through the middle despite being a natural left-winger for Celts through the years.