Doyle-Hayes earning rave reviews in Scotland

Soccer

When The Anglo-Celt last caught up with Jake Doyle-Hayes in April, the Ballyjamesduff man was in his house in Birmingham as lockdown kicked in, pondering where the season would take him with Cheltenham Town.

Doyle-Hayes was earning rave reviews for the League Two club but with the pandemic bringing extra uncertainty, he was unsure as to what the future held with parent club Aston Villa.

“I think it’s gone really well so far anyway, hopefully that will continue for the rest of the season once it starts back,” Doyle-Hayes said.

“My mindset was to get out and get as many games as I could. Some players have been playing in this league for years. I’ve just been trying to impress, my main aim is stay at Villa and try to get a new contract and progress my career there.”

As it turned out, despite impressing greatly in his loan move, Jake ended up moving on. A string of suitors were queuing up for his signature but he ended up signing on with Scottish Premier League outfit St Mirren and, so far, it has proven to be a canny piece of business for the club – and for the Cavanman.

Doyle-Hayes has been earning glowing tributes in the Scottish press, with The Times noting after one sparkling performance: “Few people in Scotland have heard of Jake Doyle-Hayes, a young Irish midfielder who has taken up residence in Paisley, but we surely will become more familiar with this talented footballer on the basis of his contribution to this dismantling of Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup.

“Jim Goodwin’s team were full value for the win on Saturday evening, bristling with bite and skill, and Doyle-Hayes was at the heart of it.”

Last night, Jake starred as St Mirren ended Rangers’ 26-game unbeaten run. There were five Irishmen in the starting 11 while manager Jim Goodwin is a native of Waterford, too.

Two goals for Jamie McGrath (that's 5 in 4 games now) and an injury time winner from Conor McCarthy to give St Mirren a 3-2 win over Rangers in Scottish League Cup quarter final. Five Irishmen in starting XI and the winning manager Jim Goodwin too.

The Ballyjamesduff man, who only turns 22 on December 30, has certainly taken the Scottish league by storm. Watch this space!