Early career Born in
Stockton-on-Tees,
North East England, After becoming disillusioned he gave up professional football and became a teacher, while playing
non-League football with
Northern Premier League side
Whitby Town. During his spell with the
Tyneside club he made 87 appearances, scoring 19 goals from the centre of defence.
Stockport County On 29 March 2003, Jones was signed by
Stockport County for a fee of £5,000. Jones made his professional debut on 9 August 2003 in a 1–0 defeat against
Wycombe Wanderers. Originally signed as cover, Jones struggled to break into the first team both under
Carlton Palmer and his replacement
Sammy McIlroy. By the end of the season Jones had only managed 16 appearances, scoring two goals against
Luton Town and
Peterborough United. During his spell with County he had a spell on loan with
Macclesfield Town where he played one match, a 2–2 away draw against
Hull City.
Grimsby Town Jones signed on a
free transfer for
Russell Slade's
Grimsby Town in July 2004 after impressing on trial. During the
2004–05 season, his first year at
Blundell Park Jones struggled to cement his place in the first team, and was often overlooked in favour of
Terrell Forbes and
Justin Whittle. Jones made his debut on the opening day of the season in a 1–0 away defeat against
Darlington. During the
2005–06 season Jones moved on to play a central role in the team in his second season. The club made a strong start to the season in both league and cup which included a 1–0 victory over
Tottenham Hotspur in the
League Cup second round during September 2005. It was following this match that Jones who impressed at centre half was carried off the pitch by Grimsby fans. The club failed to gain automatic promotion from
League Two on the final day of the season and had to settle for the play-offs. Despite beating local rivals
Lincoln City in the semi-final Grimsby lost the final 1–0 to
Cheltenham Town. Following the club's failure to secure promotion Jones was one of several key players who departed the club in the summer of 2006 with the club agreeing a deal to sell Jones to
Scottish Premier League club
Hibernian.
Hibernian Jones signed for
Hibernian on a four-year contract in June 2006. He was very well received by Hibs supporters, who created his own individual song to the tune of "
Gold" by
Spandau Ballet. Jones was made captain of Hibernian in January 2007, replacing
Kevin Thomson. Jones went on to captain Hibs to their first piece of silverware in 16 years by beating
Kilmarnock 5–1 in the
2007 Scottish League Cup final. He opened the scoring in that match with a header from a
corner kick. Due to his height, Jones is effective in the air both defensively and at attacking set pieces. As of January 2009, Jones has scored ten goals in
Scottish Premier League matches.
BBC Sport reported in the summer of 2007 that Jones had been angered by Hibs turning down an offer for him from
Leeds United.
Ipswich Town were also interested in Jones at the same time.
Colchester United made a "six figure offer" for Jones during January 2009, but this was rejected by Hibs.
Scunthorpe United The 2009 close season saw Jones linked with several
Championship clubs including
Derby,
Nottingham Forest,
Bristol City and
Swansea. He eventually signed for
Scunthorpe United for an undisclosed "club record" fee.
Sheffield Wednesday On 17 March 2011, Jones signed an emergency loan deal with
Sheffield Wednesday until the end of the 2010–11 season. At the end of the season, Wednesday signed Jones on a two-year contract.
Gary Megson then appointed Jones team
captain for the 2011–12 season.
Doncaster Rovers On 31 July 2012, Jones continued his tour of South Yorkshire, leaving recently promoted side Sheffield Wednesday to join League One club
Doncaster Rovers, effectively replacing
George Friend, who had just signed for Middlesbrough. Jones scored his first goal for Doncaster in a League Cup win over
Hull City on 28 August 2012. Following the departure of manager
Dean Saunders, Jones and former
Wales manager
Brian Flynn were put in temporary charge of the squad. After Flynn was appointed manager on a permanent basis, Jones was given a player/coach role to assist Flynn. On the final day of the 2012–13 season Rovers faced title rivals
Brentford away from home and in the final minute conceded a penalty which would have seen Doncaster fall to 3rd and seen the club have to make do with a play-off spot, however
Marcello Trotta hit the crossbar and in the resulting scramble Doncaster went on the break to score in the final seconds with
James Coppinger's goal not only rescuing them from the play-offs but handing them the
League One title after leaders
AFC Bournemouth could only manage a draw away at
Tranmere Rovers. At the end of the season Flynn stood aside and was promoted to Director of Football, where he was replaced by
Paul Dickov. Dickov in turn appointed his own coaching staff and named former
Manchester City manager
Brian Horton as his assistant resulting in Jones relinquishing his coaching duties and returning to be a full-time member of the playing squad. Jones took over as
caretaker manager when Dickov was dismissed on 8 September 2015, and remained in charge until
Darren Ferguson took over as manager on 18 October. Jones left Doncaster by mutual consent on 1 February 2016.
Hartlepool United On 3 March 2016, Jones signed for League Two club
Hartlepool United on a contract until the end of
2015–16. ==Coaching career==