Jones is certain to make his mark at Ibrox
O’Neill tips winger to be an instant hit
WITH Northern Ireland’s first appearance at a World Cup finals since 1986 on the line, Michael O’Neill studied Jordan Jones intently and detected no nerves.
It had been the same whenever he had previously scouted the winger in action for Kilmarnock in matches against Celtic and Rangers.
O’Neill duly handed the 24-year-old a baptism of fire in the white heat of a second-leg World Cup qualifier against Switzerland in St Jakob-Park in Basle in November 2017.
The match may have finished scoreless, with a narrow 1-0 loss on aggregate ending Northern Ireland’s hopes of qualifying for back-to-back major tournaments for the first time.
But Jones grasped his big chance and has since blossomed into a pivotal part of O’Neill’s side, impressing in back-to-back away Euro 2020 qualifying wins in Belarus and Estonia last month.
And while the former Killie player may not be viewed as a marquee signing for Rangers, O’Neill believes Steven Gerrard has shrewdly landed a big-game player who will get the Ibrox fans off their seats.
‘I do feel that Jordan Jones is ready to make an impact at Rangers,’ said O’Neill. ‘It’s always a big step when you go from another Scottish club to either of the Old Firm.
‘But I don’t think the move from Kilmarnock to Rangers will faze Jordan and I base that on a couple of things.
‘Most of the games I went to see Jordan play before calling him up for the Northern Ireland squad were against the Old Firm.
‘While he did not always have as much of the ball as he would have liked, he was always very confident whenever he did get on the ball.
‘He was always prepared to do the things he is good at. That’s what I liked about him. And as soon as we brought him into the Northern Ireland squad, we saw the same thing.
‘He didn’t need time to settle and I gave him his debut in the World Cup play-off in Switzerland.
‘He did enough in the training days to convince me to play him and I put him on for the last 20 minutes with qualification in the balance.
‘He just had that confidence to go and play his natural game — and that was great to see. ‘I’ve no doubt Jordan is a player who will get Rangers fans on the edge of their seats. ‘I watched a lot of Rangers last season and I saw how the fans reacted when Ryan Kent or Daniel Candeias were on the ball. Jordan is another one of those kind of players that can bring that excitement. ‘When you sign a player from Kilmarnock on a free transfer, he maybe doesn’t have the profile of some of the other players you are linked with. ‘But I think Rangers may be pleasantly surprised by what they have got in Jordan Jones.’ Gerrard’s second season in charge of Rangers starts next week with an away Europa League tie against St Joseph’s after the Gibraltar side surprisingly saw off Kosovan team Prishtina 3-1 on aggregate in the preliminary qualifying round.
And O’Neill believes Jones’ international experience will stand him in good stead to hit the ground running in his Ibrox career.
‘I think it will help,’ he said. ‘Jordan has been in and around the Northern Ireland team for the last 12 months. And he’s played against some good nations — South Korea, Austria, BosniaHerzegovina and in our recent qualifiers, too.
‘I think the early European games will be good for Jordan because the opposition won’t be quite as tough (as in later rounds).
‘He’s a player who is developing all the time.
‘He definitely improved a lot working on the defensive side of the game under Steve Clarke at Kilmarnock.
‘He knows the areas he needs to improve upon but, when you have got that level of technical ability and pace that Jordan has, you’ve got a lot of raw material to work with.’
Just three summers ago, Jones was without a club after hometown side Middlesbrough let him go after a series of off-the-field issues overshadowed his undoubted talent.
Last week at the Rangers training base in Portugal, the 24-year-old winger spoke of his determination to make the most of his big chance and O’Neill believes he will be true to his word.
‘I think every player gets to a stage in his career when the penny drops,’ he said.
‘Jordan had to rebuild his career. Not that long ago, he was probably scrambling around for a club and now he’s an international player at a huge club. But that’s all down to Jordan applying himself.
‘Possibly by his own admission, he would maybe say he didn’t apply himself as well as he could have done when he was younger.
‘The talent was always there with Jordan but the experiences he’s gone through earlier in his career will serve as motivation.
‘He will be looking back and saying: “Wow, I’m at Rangers now”. He will relish the opportunity that he has been given.
‘Having worked his way back up the hard way, he won’t want to take his foot off the pedal.
‘I watched Jordan join the Northern Ireland training camp recently and he is in a good place right now.
‘It was clear to see he is excited about the challenge that lies ahead with Rangers.
‘The one thing about Jordan is that he’s an easy boy to like. He’s fitted straight in with our squad and I’ve no doubts he will do the same at Rangers.’