A defender during his playing days, Dave Jones began his career with hometown club Everton where he spent five years as a First Team player before moving on to Coventry City in 1979.

After a short spell in Hong Kong’s First Division with Seiko, Jones returned to England to round-off his playing career with a year at Preston North End.

His move in to coaching came at Stockport County where he spent five years as Youth Team Coach, gaining the perfect grounding before being offered the Manager’s job at Edgeley Park in 1995.

His appointment proved a masterstroke and he went on to oversee the most memorable season in The Hatters’ history as they finished runners-up in the Second Division (League One) and also reached the semi-final of the League Cup, beating three Premier League teams on the way.

Jones’ success with County drew admirers and in 1997 he was lured away by Southampton, where he added more than 100 games to his managerial CV.

n 2001, he was appointed to the top job at Wolverhampton Wanderers where he built the foundations and guided the club back to the Premier League in 2002/03.

After his departure from Molineux in November 2004, Jones re-emerged at Cardiff City in 2005 and went on to spend a hugely-successful six-year stint.

Under Jones’ guidance, The Bluebirds defied the odds to reach the FA Cup Final in 2008, while he also twice guided the Welsh outfit to the Championship play-offs.

In March 2012, Jones was handed the Manager’s job at Sheffield Wednesday and he helped them to a second-place finish in League One and secured a return to the Championship.

Source: Hartlepool United