Northern Ireland v Israel

“It’s something I had to get used to very quickly because the level of games I was actually involved in and my first few call-ups were massive games. “You needed to pay extra attention to realise how the team works, but he has us well drilled and everyone knows their jobs. “I can only say positive things about Michael, so I want to try and put in as many positive performances as I can when I’m chosen to play. “I want to kick on with Northern Ireland and try and get as many minutes as I can on the pitch to show what I can do.” Middlesbrough-born Jones, who qualifies for Northern Ireland through his dad Paul, has “mixed emotions” when recalling his debut in last year’s ill-fated World Cup second leg play-off against Switzerland. He won his first cap from the bench in the scoreless draw in Basel, a result that saw the Swiss qualify for Russia 1-0 on aggregate thanks to an awful penalty decision in Belfast in the first leg. The memory of team-mates in tears in the changing room is seared in his mind, although he hopes the experience is a motivation for O’Neill’s men looking forward. He explained: “Obviously the experience of my debut in Switzerland was mixed. I managed to get on the pitch, which was massive for me, but we missed out on the World Cup. “I’ve been in a lot of dressing rooms as a player and the one after the Switzerland game in Basel, well, we were all absolutely devastated. “We were so close to the World Cup and the fact we didn’t make it because of a poor refereeing decision made it even worse.” “I do think that experience will make us stronger,” he added. “I know we’ll do everything not to feel that way again as we try to reach the Euro 2020 finals.”

JORDAN JONES

Position Midfielder Date Of Birth 24.10.1994 Place Of Birth Middlesbrough

MIDFIELDER

Height 175cm Weight 64kg

CLUB RECORD

11

SQUAD NO

CLUBS Middlesbrough

0

Hartlepool United (loan) Cambridge United (loan)

11

1

Kilmarnock

76

INTERNATIONAL RECORD 7 Debut 12.11.17 SQUAD NO

Caps 2 Goals 0

v Switzerland (A) Drew 0-0

Northern Ireland U19

19

www.irishfa.com