JONES HOPES TOSETTLEOLD FIRM SCORE
JORDAN JOR JONES admits he’d relish the chance to banish ban his Old Firm nightmare nigh across the city this weekend.
The Rangers winger was sent off in his first taste of the fixture, having only been thrown on as a sub with 20 minutes left in September last year as his side lost 2-0 at Ibrox.
Not only did the horror tackle on Moritz Bauer prompt an injury-time red and infuriate boss Steven Gerrard, the Northern Ireland ace injured himself and didn’t play for another four-and-a-half months. Jones looked to be on his way out of Ibrox in the summer but has returned to the team this season and impressed with some sparkling performances.
And the 25-year-old is desperate to continue that form at Celtic Park in the first Old Firm showdown of the season on Saturday.
He said: “I’d love to be involved. Obviously my last Old Firm wasn’t the best memory so I’d really like a chance to change that experience to a positive one.”
Jones admits hearing gaffer Gerrard crowing about his form left him nervous – because he knows how things can change in an instant.
Most thought the wideman would be out of Scottish football by this point but he’s shown character to hang in there plus a fair degree of class on the flank this season.
He remains at Ibrox and has fought his way back into plans with some dynamic displays.
Among them was a fine goalscoring show after starting in a 5-1 victory at Motherwell last month, cueing glowing praise from the Liverpool legend.
Jones said: “If you have someone like Gerrard complimenting you, it can only be a good thing – but you can’t get carried away.
“I’m worried to enjoy things like that because I’ve seen over the last year how quickly football can change. I have to keep my feet firmly on the floor.”
Jones is a bubbly sort but admitted the past 12 months have been a difficult spell in his career.
He said: “It’s been a tough year with injury and being left out of squads and all the stuff you see written about yourself. You have to keep going.
“You hope things will change and thankfully I got my opportunity earlier in the season and scored a goal, which was a really special moment.
“I just have to keep working hard.
“Against Austria I lasted 90 minutes for Northern Ireland – that was my first 90 minutes since Belarus away in June 2019.
“I just have to keep myself fit, stay mentally strong and keep going and do as well as I can at club and international level.”
Jones could be a key figure for Northern Ireland in next month’s Euro 2020 play- of f final against Slovakia at Windsor Park.
He was a livewire sub in extra time in the shootout win in Bosnia before being taken off before the end to accommodate spotkick takers.
Labelled selfless by boss Ian Baraclough, Jones said: “When I went on I was trying to be positive. I had a couple of efforts and I thought I scored with one.
“Then in the dying seconds I saw my number go up. It doesn’t matter that I came off, as long as the team got the result.”