It was in the summer during lockdown when Celtic took the opportunity to trim some fat from their budget, getting rid of two players Peter Lawwell perceived as expendable.

Jozo Simunovic and Jonny Hayes were at the end of their deals and while both thought they were a stick-on to sign new deals, the pandemic offered Lawwell and easy out for dropping them both from the club.

Now, there’s no revisionism here, both players had their ups and downs at the club but Jonny, in particular, was getting game time under Neil Lennon and while the support was right to suggest Jonny wasn’t as talented as others in the side, he gave Celtic 110% and was an influence on the pitch.

He also was a grinder and right now we need that extra bit of dig. Extending his Celtic deal to be a utility man would have made sense but now the story is set between the former Celtic player and Neil Lennon’s men.

We now have a scenario where we’ll be up against Jonny twice in quick succession. Pittodrie on Saturday followed by a Hampden semi-final from last season which the Irishman would have most likely started for Celtic.

We hope this decision by Peter Lawwell, doesn’t come back to bite us.