JONNY HAYES took less than one minute to make his mark in the middle of the desert yesterday, calmly side-footing into the net to put Aberdeen ahead against Uzbekistan top-flight side Bunyodkor somewhere between Dubai and the middle of nowhere.

Yet, Derek McInnes and the rest of the 200-odd ex-pats in attendance for this game around 30 minutes outside the UAE city will hope the Irishman isn’t gone in 60 seconds as Aberdeen wait for another bid for their talented winger.

Just three days on from being the subjected of a rejected £500,000 offer from Cardiff City, Hayes lit up this end-of-training camp game in the modest surroundings of the Jebel Ali Centre of Excellence. Not just from the tap in latched on to from a Graeme Shinnie squared ball, but throughout the encounter before he returned the favour for the winner on 77 minutes in this 2-1 victory.

Herald Sport understands another approach is anticipated from the Championship club, despite Cardiff manager Neil Warnock remaining vague about the prospect when speaking on Friday.

The speculation surrounding the 29-year-old Dubliner didn’t appear to faze him, a point picked up by his manager during a post-match debrief. McInnes has no intention of losing one of his star players over the comings weeks and reiterated that point again as the dusk set in, stressing that any potential suitors, whether Warnock’s Cardiff or anyone else, must get ‘serious’ if they want to wrench him away from Pittdodrie.

“Like anyone, it’s flattering to be linked with a good Championship club. But I think we have created an environment here which is going to be a wrench for any of our players to leave,” said McInnes.

“When there is interest, it is only natural to have your head turned a bit, but Jonny accepts he has work to do with us and that’s how it has to stay until we decide. He’s a good boy and you want the best for him, so that’s why we say be serious to anyone who is interested. If not, leave the boy alone and let him get on with his football.

“He seems fine and you saw him in the game. He’s neither up nor down, scored the goal and worked his shift. He knows how things work as an experienced player. Jonny just wants to try and progress his own career and if a move to another club helps him do that, we’ll need to deal with it 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.”

This competitive run out was an appropriate way to bring to a close a worthwhile trip to the Middle East for the team currently sitting third in the Ladbrokes Premiership. Aberdeen have been here on the outskirts of Dubai since Wednesday and will fly back to chilly Glasgow today reinvigorated for the experience.

The fact they were given a robust test by Bunyodkor will have pleased McInnes ahead of a Scottish Cup tie with Stranraer this forthcoming Saturday. The team from Tashkent, who boast Rivaldo as a former player as well as Zivo and Luiz Felipe Scolari as ex-head coaches, went into their fourth game of their own trip and stunned the couple of hundred Aberdeen supporters in attendance when Javokhir Esankulov spun on the edge of the box to slam the ball beyond Joe Lewis.

As good a strike as it was, he was to be outdone by Shinnie from an almost identical position with just 13 minutes to go as the former Inverness man guided a half-volley into the top right-hand corner.

“It’s one of those ones as the game comes along when you start to wonder whether or not you have done the right thing,” added McInnes. “Most managers have spoken about it. We’ve all talked after games and everyone was keen to find out what each other was doing.

“The win wasn’t the most important thing, but it was a wee bonus and it just keeps the players making decisions and you can’t get that in training.”

The feel-good factor of the trip has filtered its way through McInnes’ squad, as a refreshed Kenny McLean testified to afterwards. The midfielder almost scored with a 50-yard attempted lob during the first half, however it is a target of achieving success in the Scottish Cup that the former St Mirren man has set his sights on.

Not since Aberdeen won the Scottish Cup in 1990 have there been red ribbons hanging from the old trophy at Hampden, and McLean is eager to be part of the team that brings that run to an abrupt end on May 27.

“It has stood for a while and I’d say it’s time to get rid of that. There’s never a bad time to win a cup,” said the 25-year-old, who won the League Cup with St Mirren in 2013. “The manager has pulled a good squad together, the boys are feeling well and are raring to go in the second half of the season. It starts with the Scottish Cup.

“A good run is what we are looking for and we’re confident enough we can go the whole way. I don’t see why not.

“That’s what we’ll look to do.”