Jonny Hayes: Aberdeen boss tells Cardiff to be serious over winger offer

Hayes scored inside the first minute against Bunyodkor in Dubai

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has told Cardiff City to "be serious" if they are planning a second approach for winger Jonny Hayes.

The Dons turned down an undisclosed offer for the 29-year-old on Friday.

Hayes scored one and set up the other in Sunday's 2-1 win over Uzbekistan's Bunyodkor in Dubai.

"I'd tell them [Cardiff] or anybody else 'be serious with your offer and we can get it resolved and see where it takes us'," said McInnes.

"If not, leave the boy alone and let him concentrate on what he's best at."

Hayes found the net after 50 seconds and registered an assist for Graeme Shinnie on 77 minutes in the friendly win at the Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence.

"Jonny just wants to make the best for his own career and if a move to another club helps him do that then we just need to deal with that when it comes along, but for now he's our player and we want that to remain the case for the rest of the season," added McInnes.

"I think Jonny accepts we are quite within our rights to reject that offer, we spoke to him and I think the ideal situation now is to get things resolved quickly and focus on the second half of the season.

"It might be to unsettle the player and destabilise him, but what it can't do is destabilise us, so if anybody is serious on any of our players they need to be serious so we can get back to concentrating on what we need to do.

"I think it's flattering for anybody to be linked with a good Championship club - any player, when there's interest, has his head turned a wee bit but I think Jonny accepts he's got work to do with us and until we decide, that's the way it has to stay.

"It's important now that Jonny knuckles down and for us it's important to focus on the rest of the window and hopefully we can get through it with nobody leaving but it's up to the actions of others to change that."

Shinnie (right) hit Aberdeen's winner in the Dubai friendly

Of the benefits of having a winter training camp in Dubai, McInnes said: "We needed to get training and ideally to get away from Aberdeen to do that, to keep us all together and control the situation and environment we are working in and when you look at some of the weather back home I think we picked a decent week to be away.

"For that it has been worthwhile but we probably won't get the true value of the trip until a couple of weeks when we have time to reflect on it."

Aberdeen fly back home on Monday ahead of their third round Scottish Cup tie at home to Stranraer on Saturday.