When Adam Rooney received his first Irish call-up this week, there was no one more pleased than fellow countryman Jonny Hayes.
The 27-year-old Dubliner has been tipped to follow Rooney’s lead by earning international recognition of his own after an excellent season with Aberdeen.
Hayes, however, says pushing for a place in Martin O’Neill’s squad is not in his thoughts.
Instead, the attacking midfielder, whose son Jackson was born last September, would rather spend the time on parental duty rather than international duty.
He said: “I have got a young son and I like having the international weekends to spend time with him.
“It doesn’t bother me whether I was called up or not. I have seen Niall McGinn be on the go for three years non-stop.
“I am quite happy to spend every minute I can get with my family.
“I don’t think Niall has had a proper holiday now for the best part of three years. If Northern Ireland qualify for Euro 2016 he won’t get one next year, either.
“It is a tough demand on the players.
“It is great to see Niall on the world stage, scoring and playing against big teams but I am quite happy sitting at home watching it on the television.”
Hayes believes Rooney’s selection for O’Neill’s provisional 33-man squad for next month’s matches against England and Scotland is well deserved following a sparkling season in which he found the back of the net on 27 occasions.
The Irish duo previously played together under Terry Butcher at Caley Thistle before being reunited by Derek McInnes at Aberdeen last year.
Hayes believes Rooney possesses the quality to shine in international football.
He added: “Everyone knows what Adam brings to our team. I have lost count of how many points his goals have won us this season.
“His goals have kept us up the top end of the table and it is nice for him to be recognised.
“In Scotland you don’t always get the publicity you deserve. In England people will be writing home about players scoring goals in League 2 and League 1 but Adam is playing at a higher standard.
“For him to go and score almost 30 goals is well deserved.
“You look out for the squads every time they are selected and we thought Adam might have a chance because he has been scoring so many goals.
“You have to remember there are quality players who play at a higher level but, in terms of form, Adam is there on merit.
“Hopefully, he can make the cut and get involved in the games. If he does get that chance then knowing Adam he will grab a goal.”