Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has praised Jordan Jones for his impact in the Europa League qualifier against Willem II and hinted that changes could be made for the trip to Motherwell in the Premiership on Sunday, as captured by RangersTV.
The Gers produced a strong European away display to defeat Willem II 4-0 on Thursday night, with goals from James Tavernier, Ryan Kent, Filip Helander and Connor Goldson setting up a winner-takes-all clash with Galatasaray at Ibrox next week.
With Joe Aribo, Ryan Jack, Kemar Roofe and Brandon Barker all out injured, the Gers boss picked the same ten outfield players that started the 2-2 draw with Hibernian on Sunday.
However, as the game progressed, he was able to freshen things up from the bench and Jordan Jones was finally handed his first appearance of the season.
The Northern Ireland international replaced the outstanding Kent in the 72nd minute and looked sharp during his short time on the pitch.
In the dying embers of the game, he enjoyed his best moment, picking up the ball on the halfway line and showing great pace to drive all the way the opposition box before squaring for Ianis Hagi, who could only blaze over with the goal at his mercy.
Jones may not have notched an assist, but he did receive praise from his manager, who hinted that fringe players could be involved against Motherwell on Sunday.
“I thought our subs were positive,” said Gerrard, as captured by RangersTV. “JJ, you can see, giving us that oxygen at the end, he looked a real threat and Ceddy (Cedric Itten) was holding it up for us, trying to be that link man.”
“The recovery starts now and people who were on the outside today and people who were around the squad have to be ready because we have to make sure that everyone comes through that and then we’ll have a gameplan ready for Motherwell. It’ll be another tough test.”
Rangers boss Gerrard praises Jordan Jones, hints at possible changes – Verdict
The cameo appearance and these words from his manager will be a boost for Jones after such a long period on the peripheries.
The 25-year-old came on in the Europa League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen after the resumption of football but had been consistently overlooked since the beginning of the 2020/21 campaign.
His end product isn’t always reliable but his pace makes him a big threat on the counter and he looked sharp in Tilburg.
Jones and other players like Leon Balogun and Jermain Defoe will be encouraged by the manager’s hint towards potential personnel changes at the weekend and should be pushing hard in training over the next two days in case a spot opens up in the XI for the Fir Park fixture.
