ROB JONES admitted today that a long-awaited return to the goal-scoring charts last weekend was the perfect way to bring an end to what had been a difficult week.
And the Hibs skipper is determined to put the worries of recent weeks behind him by adding to his goals tally against Motherwell at Fir Park tomorrow. The big Englishman bagged his first goal in 18 months in the SPL clash with Aberdeen last Saturday
– and it was a welcome reason for celebration for the big defender who had been on an emotional roller-coaster in the preceding days.
His newborn son, Joseph, just 11 days old at the time, had been rushed into hospital for emergency treatment after he'd stopped breathing and Jones was given compassionate leave for the match against Dundee United at Tannadice to spend time at his son's bedside.
Fortunately, the tot was given a clean bill of health after a few days of medical care and got out of hospital last Friday night. Jones, who scored the first of Hibs' goals against Aberdeen last weekend as they fought back to earn a last-gasp 2-2 draw, admitted the news had given him a timely boost ahead of the clash with Jimmy Calderwood's men.
He said: "I missed the game against Dundee United because Joseph had been taken into hospital. He had turned blue and stopped breathing on the Monday night and he was rushed in.
"It wasn't a nice week for me or my family and obviously it was a really worrying time because he was only a few days old. I spoke to the gaffer to say that I couldn't play and I know that it was the right decision to stay with my wife and my little boy. He's home now, he came out late on Friday night and he's settled back in. It was a nice boost for everyone. Thankfully the week ended better than it started and the goal just rounded things off for me."
Jones' last goal came in the 2006-07 season in a 1-1 draw with St Mirren at Love Street, but the Englishman is determined that it won't be quite so long until his next strike.
The Easter Road outfit travel to Motherwell this weekend looking for their first win since the beginning of October and Jones would love to be back on the scoresheet in Lanarkshire.
Having netted eight in his first season at the club, he hit a blank in the last campaign, but with his first of the new season under his belt he's already looking for more.
"That's my first for a long time," he added. "I was getting fed up waiting! I don't know what happened because in my first season at the club I was getting on like a house on fire and scoring goals regularly. More or less every time I went up for a corner or a free-kick in that first season I scored a goal. Maybe it went too well for me because it obviously raised expectations, including my own.
"In my second season it was a bit more difficult to get space in the box and there were maybe two or three opposition players marking me instead of just the one. I was delighted to get back on the scoresheet, I have never shied away from the fact that I enjoy scoring goals, and hopefully I can go out and get a few more over the course of the rest of the season."
While Jones was delighted with his goal, he was left kicking himself at the error which saw the Dons take the lead at Easter Road last weekend.
And he's determined that not only he, but the rest of his team-mates, cut out the individual mistakes which have cost Mixu Paatelainen's side so dear this season already. Jones ducked at the crucial moment last Saturday, clearly believing Sone Aluko's cross would be dealt with by goalkeeper Andy McNeil, only for Darren Mackie to get there first and send the ball into the net. Jones revealed his determination to rid Hibs' game of such situations in future. "I've got to eradicate that little mistake or two at the back," he said. "I was annoyed at myself for allowing Aberdeen to score their first goal.
"It's a hard one to explain, but it certainly made me more determined to go out and get a goal at the other end to make up for it. I wanted to try to get us back into the game, which I did thankfully, and after what had happened before I was delighted to get the goal and obviously see Fletch get another one right at the end.
"If you make a mistake like that then you tend to try to do everything possible to go out and put it right. It was a great ball in by Derek, something that I have maybe not been able at the front post to get on the end of in recent times. But we changed a few things around and I was delighted that it paid off for us."
Despite being forced to hang on until the dying seconds for their leveller, Jones was pleased with the fighting spirit and determination which the Hibs players showed in coming back from two goals down. "There was a real fighting spirit evident against Aberdeen, very much so," he said. "We could easily have crumbled at 2-0 down but there is spirit and desire back within this football club.
"I think that was in evidence for at least the last half hour of the game and we eventually – and rightly – got something out of the game. I'm sure that most people would agree that we deserved to take at least a point. We would have been very aggrieved if we hadn't taken anything.
"We pressed really well late in the game and to be truthful if we had gone on and won the game there wouldn't have been many people saying that we didn't deserve it.
"I thought we did deserve at least a point and that we controlled long periods of the game. We showed a lot of character in the way that we came back.
"I never gave up on the fact that we could take something from the match. I don't think that think you can look at it that way (not taking something] because, if you do, then there's not really much point in turning up. Thankfully, we scored one right at the death. While there is still time on the clock, there is always a chance. It is a very fine line. If you take away the mistakes we have made, the individual errors, then we are not far away from getting it right.
"The gaffer said after the game that we have to cut those out, we have to try to settle down and that the goals and the wins will come, because we have got some very good footballers here.
"The camaraderie between all of the players and between the players and the coaching staff is brilliant and we all want to be pulling in the same direction.
"Take away those silly mistakes over the next few games and we will be okay."
