THERE WERE times when Jake Doyle-Hayes would have been forgiven for thinking that a day like this afternoon may never come.

It’s been a rollercoaster few years for the former Ireland underage international. But when he lines out at the Etihad Stadium against Man City, the endless hours of toil, pain and uncertainty will have felt worth it.

The 27-year-old joined Exeter City in August and is one of two Irish players at the club, along with captain Pierce Sweeney, who will miss the high-profile FA Cup tie through suspension.

Doyle-Hayes has come a long way in a short space of time. At this point last year, he was without a club, having been released by Hibernian at the beginning of January.

“To play one of the best teams in the world is something really exciting,” he tells The 42.

“Financially, it’s definitely going to help the club.”

You can get odds of 22/1 to back an away win, and the League One side pulling off that feat would be one of the biggest shocks in the competition’s history. But this season has already provided the template for a remarkable upset. Grimsby Town, who are situated a division below Exeter, knocked Man United out of the League Cup, and Doyle-Hayes warns against writing off the underdogs today.

“We’re definitely going there to try to win. I think if you’re not doing that, then there’s something wrong with you, so we have full belief in ourselves. We obviously know how difficult the game is going to be and how well we have to play. But I don’t see why not. If we play as well as we know we can, we have every chance.

“I think it’s going to be probably the hardest game that most of our players have ever played in; everything’s going to be difficult. But we’ve prepared for that all week, and we’ll be ready.”

Exeter can take some confidence from their league form. A difficult start included four successive league losses in September, but they have improved since then, and the Grecians have taken seven points from their last three matches, leaving them nine adrift of the playoff spots in 14th.

“We were down the bottom end of the table, but we still had that belief that we were playing well enough that we were going to start to pick up results. And I think that has started to happen now,” he adds.

After joining in August, Doyle-Hayes was handed the ’31′ shirt, a significant number at Exeter. The player who dons the jersey receives partial funding from a group of supporters. It references 1931, the year the club embarked on a historic FA Cup run and secured a memorable giant-killing against Derby County, who were considered one of the best sides in England at the time.

Doyle-Hayes already knew manager Gary Caldwell, as the pair previously worked together at Hibernian, where the former Celtic star served as assistant coach during Shaun Maloney’s tenure.

“I knew the style he wanted to play, and how he wants his teams to be, and the behaviour of his teams, and that’s probably what drew me to come and look,” the midfielder explains.

Former Celtic star Gary Caldwell is Doyle-Hayes' manager at Exeter. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Growing up in Cavan, Doyle-Hayes also played Gaelic football and hurling. But when he got the opportunity to move across the water to play for Aston Villa at 15, he didn’t think twice, despite interest from Chelsea and Manchester United.

There was a healthy Irish contingent on the books at the Villans around that time, with Roy Keane serving as assistant manager. Did the Corkonian have any advice for a young Doyle-Hayes?

“Mostly just get your head down and work hard, which I tried to do, and I still do every day now. So, I think that’s probably the best advice you can get.”

Doyle-Hayes made three senior appearances for Villa, starting League Cup games against Wigan, Middlesbrough and Yeovil. He describes the joy at finally making his debut against the Latics as the highlight of his career to this day.

He made 36 appearances in League Two during loan spells with Cambridge United and Cheltenham Town, before being released by Villa in the summer of 2020.

Nonetheless, he describes his six years at the club as an “unbelievable experience,” with the values it instilled in him putting him in good standing for the challenges ahead.

Four months after leaving Villa, Doyle-Hayes signed a short-term contract with Scottish Premiership side St Mirren in November 2020 and made a positive impact, featuring 30 times for Jim Goodwin’s team.

Top-flight rivals Hibernian snapped up the player on a two-year deal at the end of the season, and that move initially went well.

Doyle-Hayes established himself as a regular in his first season there and extended his contract just five months after originally joining.

However, persistent injury problems marred his time at the club and led to his eventual release in January 2025.

News emerged in May that Doyle-Hayes was suing Hibernian over a training-ground tackle by then-manager Lee Johnson in 2022, with his lawyers arguing the midfielder’s career had been “greatly restricted” by an ankle injury sustained in the incident. (When contacted at the time by BBC Scotland, Hibs would only say that they were aware of the claim, while Johnson declined to comment.)

With the case still ongoing, Doyle-Hayes is unable to get into specifics but admits to experiencing some “dark days” during his lengthy spell out injured.

“You just feel like it’s never-ending, really, but I’ve got a wife and two kids that you try and just keep motivated for, keep working hard, because you’re doing it for them. So that’s probably my main driving factor for everything.”

Evan Logan / INPHO Evan Logan / INPHO / INPHO

Doyle-Hayes joined Sligo Rovers last February, and he is grateful to manager John Russell, along with all the other staff and players, for helping to reinvigorate his career.

“They helped me a lot to try to get my career going in the right direction again. They showed a lot of faith in me.

“After being out for so long, you don’t really know what way everything is going to go. Sligo, at the time, understood where I wanted to get back to, if I could. And they knew the situation.

“And of course, I gave everything I could and did as much as I could. I was just delighted to get the chance to get back across. But definitely owe a huge thanks to Sligo.”

On recovering from the long-term injury, Doyle-Hayes adds, “You find that driving factor, why you want to do it. You remind yourself of why you’re doing something when times get tough, or you’re in a difficult spell in games, or your team aren’t doing too well, or whatever, you find that reason.

“Why do you want to keep going? What are you doing this for? And I think that drives you on. I think that’s what I found, especially while I was injured, why you’re doing it while you’re going in, working in the gym every day, while you’re going through the pain you’re going through to try to get back, for whatever that reason is.”

Doyle-Hayes’ wife, his three-year-old boy, and his 10-month-old daughter will all be in attendance at the Etihad today, while he also has family members travelling over from Ireland for the match.

“They follow me around, wherever, whatever team I’m at. So the least I can do is give it my all every day for them, and look, a game against Man City at the weekend is a bonus. And you’re hoping everything goes well.”

In addition to 19 appearances for Sligo, he has already played 18 times for Exeter, with the worst of his injury problems seemingly behind him.

Having won plenty of caps at underage level, Doyle-Hayes also says he has not given up hope of one day representing the Irish senior team.

“Why not? That’s probably the biggest honour you can have, to play for your country and put on the green jersey. I’ll work hard every day and see what happens.”