JONES IS STUCK IN THE MUD

BEFORE Dave Jones emerged at Hartlepool, most people assumed he’d retired from football management.

A disastrous tenure at the Vic means he now has little choice. In the wake of relegation last weekend, nobody on the playing staff attempted to hide their contempt for the 60-year-old.

Caretaker Matthew Bates insisted things would have been different had Jones been sacked earlier. Carl Magnay spoke witheringly of ‘certain management styles’. Justified or not, mud sticks. In an industry where reputation is everything, Jones finds his in the gutter.