Jones won’t be branded diver, says Clarke

KILMARNOCK boss Steve Clarke has dismissed fears Jordan Jones is in danger of gaining a reputation for diving amongst referees.

The Northern Ireland international is suspended for today’s showdown with St Mirren after his controversial Dundee tumble.

Jones agreed to accept a two-match ban even though he insists he did not hit the deck deliberately during his side’s 2-1 Dens Park win earlier this month.

Clarke has accepted Jones’ version of events and suggested the incident – which fooled referee Steven McLean into awarding Killie a second-half penalty – was the result of the 23-year-old losing his balance.

“I trust all the referees to officiate the games as and when they see the incidents on the pitch,” he said. “To think anything other than that would be to cast aspersions on referees that are not fair.

“We spoke to Jordan about the incident. We looked at the footage that was put in front of us but we didn’t have any angles that would make people change their minds.

“The players’ reactions are always the best ones to go by and if you look at Jordan’s, he didn’t jump up looking for a penalty. He wasn’t trying to deceive the referee, I don’t think. He says that and I believe Jordan.

“There are not many people who can run as fast as Jordan and any little touch, any little movement, can cause a loss of balance and that probably would be the best way to describe it.”

Meanwhile, Oran Kearney believes he can use the Clarke blueprint to turn around St Mirren’s fortunes.

Killie’s turnaround in fortunes under Clarke has given Kearney hope that he can inspire a similar rejuvenation for his team.

He said: “That’s the aim. The journey they have been on since Steve took over has been really impressive.

“Of course that is ideally what we would like to achieve here.

“I’m sure that he would be the first to tell you it all came about through a huge amount of hard work and graft.”

Ladbrokes Premiership