HOW TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES
Jig insists Gers should sign Killie star to boost creative powers and ensure they keep pace with Celts in title race
LEE McCULLOCH watched Jordan Jones get knocked down but get up again as he discovered Premiership defences are never going to keep him down.
That’s why the Kilmarnock winger’s former boss reckons he’d be the perfect player to keep Rangers in the mix with their top-of-the-table neighbours in the second half of the season.
Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard has been left frustrated against teams adopting the low block, toiling to break down 10-man Dundee in a 1-1 draw this month then winning by a single goal at home to Hamilton despite 22 corners.
For McCulloch, the stalwart who used to wear the Light Blues armband, Jones is the man who could sprinkle a bit of a magic in order to stun packed defences.
Jig struck up a close working relationship with the Northern Ireland international during his near eight months in charge at Rugby Park last year.
Rangers failed in a bid to land the 24-year-old in the last January window but could be poised to move again for a player able to sign a pre-contract next month.
And with Wednesday’s goalless draw at Easter Road seeing Gerrard’s side slip off the summit, McCulloch believes “street player” Jones is the solution to helping them climb back there.
He said: “Jordan is obviously a Kilmarnock player and all the rest of it but he’d be the one who could unlock defences with teams now sitting in against Rangers.
“When Rangers struggled in the draw against Dundee then that’s the type of situation where you need a bit of magic Jordan could provide.
“Talking from experience, when teams sit deep against you – and I never went past anyone in my life – you need someone to go and beat two or three players and Jordan is tailor-made for that.
“He’s the one who will go past two or three players and maybe open the door for an Alfredo Morelos or Kyle Lafferty so it’s a no-brainer to get him.
“Jordan can play in behind but I prefer him out wide where it’s not as congested and just one v one.
“He’s given James Tavernier a few torrid times and even Mikael Lustig, Jack Hendry or whoever has been Celtic’s right-back. There isn’t a right-back who could handle Jordan when he’s on his game. That’s how highly I rate him from my time working with him.
“He would maybe take a month to settle but in the long run he’d make the club money as well as benefit from him on the pitch.
“I had left Kilmarnock by the time Rangers made a concrete offer at the start of the year but the rumours were circulating when I was there – and he’d be a brilliant player for Rangers.
“They have strength in the wide areas but Glenn Middleton is young and has so much to learn.
“Jordan would be a great signing. He has the mentality where he could handle a big club.
“He’s a street player. He would get smashed early on in games sometimes and I’d be thinking he would go under but he’d bounce back up, demand the ball and go again. That told me everything I needed to know about his mentality.
“It would be an unbelievable signing for Rangers and if they don’t get him I know he’ll get a good move.
“He was the joker in the dressing room and he’s got the hairstyle and the swagger. He’s been backing that up lately and was man of the match in the win over Dundee last time out.”
Jones turned down a new deal at the start of the season and has been linked with Championship sides including Swansea.
McCulloch knows Rugby Park boss Steve Clarke and his board could be faced with a dilemma over whether to cash in next month or risk losing him for nothing at the end of the season.
With Killie battling Rangers at the top end of the table the ex-Middlesbrough man could be crucial to their European hopes.
McCulloch said: “Jordan knocked back a contract in the
summer and his deal is up at the end of the summer so he can sign a pre-contract.
“Kilmarnock need to consider whether they want to keep a hold of him to finish as high as possible or bite the bullet and let him go and try to get money to buy someone else.
“The other thing the manager and the board have to decide is whether they want to stand in his way if he wants to go – I’m just glad it’s not my decision.
“He had a bit of a lull at the start of the season and I’m not sure if that was maybe because he expected to move.
“But Jordan’s getting better all the time and is more confident.
“There was a time under a previous manager where he was told he was free to leave and that gave him a bit of a fright.
“When I took over along with Peter Leven on an interim basis it was a case of putting an arm around him and he shone from there.
“We told him he was good enough to step up to international level and we’ve been proven right. He’s got there and is a mainstay in the Northern Ireland squad.”
Jones has been capped five times for Michael O’Neill’s side, playing alongside skipper Steven Davis who has also been linked with a January move to Ibrox.
The 33-year-old has been told he can leave Southampton and McCulloch, who spent four years alongside him in Govan, reckons he’d be another great capture.
He said: “Steve still has the ability to play in the English Premiership and there’s no doubt he could still do a job in Scotland. He has been at the club before and knows what it’s all about. He captained the club, won leagues and cups and he’s the complete midfielder which is what Rangers need.
“Steve can play as a holding midfielder, No.10 and even out wide. He’s versatile and a tremendous footballer with great experience. He has more than 100 caps so it’s a no-brainer signing.
“They have to get him on loan until the end of the season or just sign him, depending on the circumstances.”
He would get smashed early on in games...but he’d bounce back up LEE McCULLOCH ON JONES’S DETERMINATION