RAT’S THE WAY I LIKE IT
Nathan loves to upset odds
“SKINNY rat-faced Welsh boy” Nathan Jones is happy to be written off before he’s even started at Southampton.
And Jones, who takes charge of Saints for the first time today at Liverpool, has already scripted his underdog story.
His appointment to replace Ralph Hasenhuttl has been met with a mixed response from fans hoping for a more glamorous name.
But former Luton manager Jones, 49, hit back at his sceptics, saying: “I know I am not the biggest name the club could have gone for but it doesn’t really bother me.
“It can bother fans and so on but I have to change that perspective and only results will do that.
“I come from a mining community in Wales which is the back end of anywhere.
“I left school at 16 to go to Cardiff City, got released and then 33 years later I’m managing a Premier League club. It’s an underdog story really.
“I’m very proud of that and I’ve never been given a golden spoon. I’ve always had to work for everything and in God’s will I’m here where I am now.
“I like working hard. I’ve never really been gifted anything.
“The fact that a skinny, rat-faced Welsh boy is managing in the Premier League, that’s pretty much a good story anyway.”
Jones admits Saints, who are in the relegation zone, have taken a gamble on him and that he is taking himself out of his comfort zone after two successful spells at Luton with an ill-fated 11-month stint at Stoke in between.
The former Brighton defender, whose family are all devout Saints fans, said: “I’ve got a decent name as a Championship manager. I’ve got an unbelievable name at League One and at League Two – I would actually be a real coup – so unless I want to stay at that level, then, sooner or later, I have to get past that.
“I’ve never made a decision based on my name. It’s my work, so if I feel I can impact and really do something, then, yes, I make that choice.
“I believe in the work we do and that I can transfer that to a wonderful club and I wouldn’t have jumped for any job, I really wouldn’t have, but I felt this was the right fit.
“I feel I can maximise the work that I do and the potential I have at this club and that’s what I’m excited about.
“As a player I craved a manager to care about me, I craved someone to want to make me better.
“I never had it, which is ironic because I played for 23 years, but I want to be that manager, that coach that basically changes their life.”