That’s a bit lippy

Jordan: I’m not a diver and I’ve got bloody mouth to show it

JORDAN JONES insists he is no diver – and pointed to his burst lip as proof critics are wrong to brand him one.

St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright made a diving motion as the Kilmarnock winger hit the deck at the end of a feisty 10-minute spell on Wednesday.

Moments earlier the pair were involved in a verbal bust-up on the touchline after a challenge left Jones sporting a split lip.

And before that Wright claims the wideman mimicked a dive gesture after winning the penalty that Kris Boyd tucked away.

Just four days before the 2-0 win for Killie, Aberdeen gaffer Derek McInnes accused Jones of going down without any contact to win the penalty that kept his club in the Scottish Cup.

But the 23-year-old insists he has gained an unwarranted reputation as a diver – and is adamant any jibes just make him more all the more determined to succeed.

He said: “My mouth was pouring with blood – I don’t know what was going on. Tommy was a little bit annoyed but I’m not here to talk about him.

“If people make accusations then it motivates me even more.

“McInnes did it last week and said I dived when I clearly didn’t. Tommy said I dived – I’m not quite sure if it was when I got my lip burst or whether it was the penalty incident he was talking about. Neither were dives. They can say what they want but all I want to do is impress Steve Clarke and I feel like I’ve done that.

“I don’t want a reputation as someone who does that (dives) but I can use it as motivation to shut them up and prove them wrong.

“The gaffer told me after McInnes accused me to take it as a compliment. It happened again during the St Johnstone game and it was hard not to hear it because I was only five yards away. You just put it to the back of your mind but it spurs you on to do more.

“I feel I’m in the form of my career but I want to keep working hard to get better and better.”

Jones admits it was a “massive compliment” to hear Killie boss Clarke declare he’d pay money to watch him play. And he added: “Anyone on the outside looking in can see how well he has done.

“When you’re working for the gaffer you feel like running through brick walls for him.”

With a Scottish Cup quarterfinal replay against the Dons on the horizon, it is shaping up to be a cracking month for Jones.

And it looks certain to be capped with a call-up for Northern Ireland’s friendly with South Korea on March 24.

Jones, who has one cap, said: “I wasted a lot of years when I was younger. But I feel I’m making up for it now and proving why people put a lot of faith in me.”

ANTHONY HAGGERTY