Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
JORD’S BACK ON A FIRM FOOTING
NORTHERN Ireland winger Jordan Jones hopes to take another forward step on the road to Rangers redemption in the first Old Firm derby of the season this weekend.
The Glasgow giants clash in the SPFL for the first time since December with Celtic trailing Steven Gerrard’s men by a point at the top but with a game in hand.
The sense of anticipation will be palpable and Jones, who looked destined to leave Ibrox during the transfer window, is keen to play a part in the drama to come.
“We’ll have to wait and see but I’d love to be involved,” he said of Saturday’s lunchtime shootout at Celtic Park.
“Obviously my last Old Firm wasn’t the best memory so I’d really like an opportunity to change that experience into a positive one.” e.”
Jones’ only prior Old Firm outing was 13 months ago when he was red-carded (right) for a lunge on Moritz Bauer, a rash challenge that also saw him suffer a knee injury.
An enforced period on the sidelines meant the 25-year-old fell out of favour until he was handed a lifeline last month.
He grabbed it with both hands, scoring his first ever Rangers goal in a 5-1 win at Motherwell (top) and drawing praise from Gerrard in the process.
“It has been a really tough year with injury, being left out of squads and all the stuff you see written about yourself but you just have to keep going,” he said.
“You hope things will change and thankfully I got my opportunity earlier in the season and scored a goal which was a really special moment. If you have someone like Steven Gerrard complimenting you it can only be a good thing but you can’t get carried away.
“At a big club things can change daily so I am sort of worried to enjoy things like that now because I have seen over the last year how quickly football can change.”
With Slovakia lying in wait in a Euro play-off, Jones is eager to be part of a team that reaches next summer’s finals. He said: “It would mean everything to me and the squad to get to the Euros. It would be life-changing so we will be giving everything next month to do it.”