Edwards knew the day would come, however he hoped the membership would get slightly longer with Hayen on the helm.
When, in the summertime of 2022, an method arrived from Membership Brugge to take over their Beneath-23s, Membership NXT, it proved unattainable for Hayen to show down.
“It was slightly little bit of a shock,” says Edwards. “I wasn’t anticipating to have any dialogue with a membership like Membership Brugge.”
Hayen stepped in as first-team assistant after Scott Parker was sacked in 2023, earlier than getting his probability as interim supervisor when Ronny Deila left final March.
There, Hayen discovered former Sint-Truiden team-mate and ex-Liverpool and Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet to open up to.
“When [Deila] stepped down with 10 video games to go final season, Nicky stepped in and gained 9 of them they usually got here out of nowhere to win the league. That was an actual assertion,” says Edwards.
It was throughout that run that Jan Mulder, the previous Ajax and Anderlecht striker turned pundit, made a prediction for Hayen’s future.
“Subsequent 12 months [he] will play a sequence of matches within the Champions League, attracting the eye of Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern and Manchester,” Mulder wrote in Humo, exterior in Might 2024.
“Nasser Al-Khelaifi of Paris St-Germain additionally joins the struggle for his signature on the final minute. Personally, I believe that the good Nicky Hayen will substitute Arne Slot from Zwolle as supervisor of Liverpool inside two years.”
The primary a part of Mulder’s premonition has confirmed to be true – Hayen’s Brugge beat Villa, Sporting and Sturm Graz within the group part, in addition to drawing with Juventus and Celtic.
The Belgian champions adopted up by defeating Atalanta in each legs of their play-off for a 5-2 mixture victory.
Previous to that second leg in Italy, Hayen defined how earlier than video games he all the time talks to his mom, who handed away 4 years in the past.
“What he has achieved within the Champions League is simply unimaginable. Membership Brugge through the years have had much better sides on paper, however he’s getting an unimaginable tune out of them,” says Edwards.
“He’s a workaholic, fanatical and leads from the entrance. I assume that’s the reason lots of these youthful gamers who’re coming by way of are working so laborious for him and having nice success.”
Hayen’s temporary tenure in Wales additionally set the platform for Haverfordwest’s future. In 2023, underneath Tony Pennock, they certified for Europe for the primary time in 19 years and solely the second time of their historical past, reaching the Europa Convention League second qualifying spherical.
“It is nice for the membership to be related to somebody like that,” says Edwards.
“It looks like it is just the beginning for him. I might love for him to go on. I’m certain there will probably be alternatives to handle even increased if he carries on.
“He’s in all probability one of many hottest properties in Europe.”
