Portsmouth boss reveals reason for major decision surrounding Newcastle United star

Hayden joined Portsmouth on-loan during the January transfer window in a bid to get regular first-team football again. The 29-year-old is contracted to Newcastle United, but hasn’t made a competitive appearance for the Magpies since December 2021 - with his only club appearance of the season before his move to the south coast coming for the U21’s in their National League Cup match against Halifax Town back in October.

Having not been included in Newcastle’s 25-man Premier League squad, Hayden was ineligible to play for the first-team - but he was given the chance to represent Jamaica by Steve McClaren during their Concacaf Nations League matches against USA in November. Hayden’s move to Fratton Park in January has seen his game time increase dramatically with him becoming a regular under John Mousinho.

Hayden made his Pompey debut against Blackburn Rovers in mid-January and was a regular in the starting XI until their matches against Burnley and Sheffield United earlier this month - games that saw Hayden play just 45 minutes over the two games. He has since been reinstated to the starting side, with Pompey winning back-to-back matches against Cardiff City and Oxford United to drag themselves away from the relegation zone.

Ahead of their clash against QPR this weekend, the club where Hayden spent the second-half of last season on-loan at, Mousinho explained the reasons for taking the midfielder out of the firing line earlier this month: “I spoke to Isaac about this when he came out of the side, he had that impact against Middlesbrough and Stoke in both of those wins so we kept him in the side.” Mousinho said.

“Having not played a huge amount of football over the past year it may have been a chance to take him out. When we did take him out, we were able to reap the rewards of him coming back in and being a bit fresher.

“That’s what we want from him (to fly under the radar). There are certain players you want to be all action and there are some where you want them to get on with their job. You don’t want them not to be noticed, but if you go through the game with Isaac and think his opponent hasn’t got any change out of him - that’s good.

“I certainly think Isaac does a very steady job in the middle of the park. You get the best of both worlds, you get that defensive solidity and you get him ticking over on the ball as well.

“We have to make sure we win the battles - win the battles of who we’re up against. That’s the most important thing.”

Hayden, who still has over a year left on his contract at St James’ Park, reunited with former Magpies winger Matt Ritchie on the south coast with the experienced pair being tasked with helping a youthful Pompey squad survive the drop in their first season back in English football’s second-tier in 13 years.

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