Jordan Jones pinpoints reason for his career kickstart at Wigan Athletic

The 29-year-old winger has been a revelation this season after being welcomed back into the fold by Shaun Maloney.

Jones, who arrived from Rangers in the summer of 2021, had spent 18 months of his two years with Latics out on loan – at St Mirren and Kilmarnock – and was very much at a crossroads.

However, he says a line was literally drawn in the sand during a family holiday last summer, since when he's rediscovered the form he'd shown during his earlier years.

"I think physically I haven't always been in the best shape I could have been," he admitted.

"Last summer, I was on holiday with my family, and I just said: 'Look I need to change, I need to get back on track'.

"I needed to eat right, and live right, and literally since that day in June, that's exactly what I've done.

"I've lost eight kilos, and I feel I'm in the best shape I've ever been in my career, living the best I've ever lived in my career.

"The first 10 games of the season, I wasn't involved, but I kept on working hard, and I was determined to take my chance when it came.

After coming through highly-regarded Middlesbrough Academy, a fruitful spell at Kilmarnock paved the way for a move to the big time and Rangers in 2019.

Even then, though, Jones was not taking his career as seriously as he admits he should have.

"When you're 21, 22, 23, you can get away with things that now, at 29, you just can't get away with," he said.

"My best year in football was probably my second year at Kilmarnock, and I'd love to say I was living perfectly, doing the right things, but I wasn't.

"I had no idea about nutrition until I joined Rangers, and I did do the right things there, because I knew that was probably going to be the biggest club I'd ever play for.

"But since leaving there, I haven't done the right things, and that's just me being honest.

"I came into this season knowing this was the last year of my contract at Wigan, and I needed to put everything into it.

"I'm not playing without responsibilities any more, I'm playing for my whole family, and I need to provide for them.

"At the moment, I'm in a really good spot, but I know I can get even better."

Jones is also relishing being a senior member of one of the youngest squads in the EFL.

"I'm 29 now, and I sort of look at things a lot differently than I did a few years ago," he added.

"As well as trying to behave right, I try to be a bit of a leader in the dressing room.

"We've got such a young squad here, there's so much talent in the group, and I'm trying to be a player I'd have wanted around me when I was their age.

"I speak to Charlie Hughes all the time, Sam Tickle too, and I try to keep them working hard and as grounded as possible."