Alfie’s on a mission
Loan star is eager to kick on with Saints
Saints new boy Alfie Jones insists he is ready to make up for lost time after finally sealing his move from English Premier League outfit Southampton.
The 20-year-old agreed a seasonlong loan deal with the Buddies yesterday– five weeks after the club first enquired about bringing him to Paisley.
The highly- rated Englishman, who can operate in both defence and midfield, recently signed a new two-year deal at St Mary’s.
But he hopes a successful spell in the black and white stripes is enough to propel him into the firstteam thoughts of his manager Mark Hughes having already starred as captain of Southampton’s Under-23 side.
Jones said: “I want to push on and get that experience here.
“It’s a great club going in the right direction and they showed an interest in me from the start. It’s a club I wanted to repay for that faith. I want to be a part of it.
“It took a few weeks. I wanted to be in for the start of the season but unfortunately that didn’t happen.
“I was trying to push to get here as soon as possible. They were on the phone to my agent and Southampton day in day out trying to get me in so I’m grateful for that.
“That’s a big factor for coming here. The manager was the one pushing it through and showing the most interest.
“I have seen the highlights of both games so far. They looked good, had a good result in the first and the second was a tough game at Ibrox.
“Hopefully we can push on this Saturday and try to get the result afterwards.
“Hopefully I can be available. I’ve had a couple of games for the 23s so fitness-wise I feel sharp and I’m ready to go when called upon.”
Having travelled with the Southampton first team to their pre-season tour of China, Jones admits he has the taste for first-team football.
But he revealed it was the pull of playing in front of big crowds and the chance to go to a club with a history of developing young players that swung the deal in St Mirren’s favour.
Jones added: “Bigger crowds, that’s definitely a part of it. A lot of passion here and St Mirren was the right choice.
“The way they’re trying to do things, the way they play football and the way they bring players through here made it the right step for my path to come here.
“I want to try to get to the top level and to do that you have to put yourself under pressure.
“As a player you want to be in front of big crowds. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I signed my two- year deal recently and a part of that was going out on loan. I wanted to get out and get experience in men’s football.”