Celtic winger Jonny Hayes enjoys first taste of action for the Hoops

JONNY HAYES admitted he loved his first taste of action for Celtic despite the low-key surroundings.

The Republic of Ireland winger played in the green and white hoops for the first time in a 1-0 friendly win over Austrian side BW Linz at a 2,000-capacity stadium in Rohrbach on Wednesday night.

But Hayes is still excited at every new experience following his recent move from Aberdeen.

The winger told Celtic TV: “The main thing is to get a bit of fitness at this stage but I loved it. Even getting changed and putting the strip on, I loved it and enjoyed every minute of it.

“I knew I was only playing 45 minutes but I didn’t want that half-time whistle to come. I just wanted to keep going.

“The lads have been first-class. Right from the minute I came in, everybody’s been brilliant with me.”

Celtic face Rapid Vienna on Saturday as they warm up for their opening Champions League qualifier, which will take place in mid-July.

Linfield took a small step towards setting up a meeting with the Scottish champions when they beat San Marino’s La Fiorita 1-0 thanks to a late goal at Windsor Park on Wednesday.

Hayes said: “The competitive action is going to be in a couple of weeks, but we’ve got some games in between that and I’m just looking forward to the weekend. Hopefully I’ll get another run-out and get a chance to put on the kit again, and go from there.”