Rejecting Northern Ireland was such a stupid decision, says Jones
I just have to show what I can do on the pitch and get recognised E
MBARRASSED Kilmarnock winger Jordan Jones has admitted he made a foolish mistake by turning his back on an international career with Northern Ireland, and hopes Michael O’Neill will give him a second chance.
Jones had played at Under-19 level for the Irish when former Motherwell assistant Stephen Robinson travelled to Middlesbrough three years ago to invite him into the Under-21 squad for a Euro qualifier in Cyprus.
But the winger, who joined Killie from Boro in the summer, pulled out of the squad because he felt he could break into the England set-up.
Now he feels like an idiot — especially after watching Northern Ireland at Euro 2016 — and he is desperate to earn another international chance.
The snub came at a troubled time in his life when he escaped jail for a street scuffle after a nightclub altercation. The Middlesbrough-born winger, hoping to help Killie to back-to-back league wins at Inverness today, said: ‘I played for the 19s when I was 17 and I didn’t really enjoy it, to be honest.
‘When I was doing really well at Middlesbrough the 21s boss came over and asked me to play for them.
‘I sat down with my family and I felt it would be a good experience to do it. But I ended up pulling out of the squad and I regret that now. I was young and immature and it was another stupid decision I made when I was going through that spell.
‘Looking back, I made a lot of stupid decisions when I was 18 or 19, but the door is still open from my point of view. I just have to try and show what I can do on the pitch and, hopefully, get recognised.
‘It was my fault. I shut the door at that time, which was stupid and naive because I was hoping to get into the young England squads but that didn’t happen.
‘There is nothing I can do about it. My past is my past and I just have to learn from it. When I think about it now, it’s embarrassing. But I am becoming more mature.
‘I hope that Michael O’Neill will keep tabs on me if I’m doing well.’
Jones, who is 22 on Monday, had been cooling his heels on the bench when manager Lee Clark brought him back into the side last weekend against St Johnstone, and statistics prove he covered more miles than any of his team-mates.
Now he hopes to become a regular as Killie aim to climb the table. Jones said: ‘It was great to be back in the starting line-up last week, I have had to wait patiently and it’s been frustrating because every player wants to play every minute of every game.
‘Sometimes wingers are not in the game. You can go ten or 15 minutes without seeing the ball. But as the gaffer says you have to keep your concentration so when you do get involved you are sharp.
‘I ran 13.5km (8.4miles) on Saturday and I usually do about ten or 11km so I have set the bar now.
‘That distance was more than I had ever covered in a match before and he told me that when you do that your performance on the ball will be better, and it’s shown.’
Meanwhile, Inverness striker Alex Fisher admits moving into the top six this weekend would be a major lift.
Caley Thistle lost their first three Premiership games but went five games unbeaten before last Friday’s 1-0 defeat by Rangers and they will leapfrog sixth-placed Motherwell if they beat Kilmarnock at home today.
Fisher said: ‘To get into the top six would be great. That’s where you want to be playing. There is an opportunity to do that and we are motivated to try and achieve it. We had a bit of a slow start but it’s a relatively small league, so you don’t need to pick up too many good results in a row to get back in the mix, like we have shown. It’s also a tight league and we have not played a team where it has been an easy game.’
Fisher is enjoying life in Scotland’s top flight after a false start to his Inverness career last season.
The 26-year-old joined from Torquay in January but only played three games before an ankle injury ended his campaign.
The former Oxford United and Mansfield Town forward said: ‘With Rangers back, the profile is right up there — back to what it was before. It’s great to play in such a competitive league.’