Former Moneyfields assistant manager Mat Jones: Baffins Milton offer ticked all the boxes for me

Mat Jones believes an offer from Baffins Milton Rovers ‘ticked all the boxes’ as he made a quick return to local football.
Mat Jones, far right, talks to the Moneyfields players at the end of a game in 2017. Picture: Neil MarshallMat Jones, far right, talks to the Moneyfields players at the end of a game in 2017. Picture: Neil Marshall
Mat Jones, far right, talks to the Moneyfields players at the end of a game in 2017. Picture: Neil Marshall

Jones had been Dave Carter’s assistant at Moneyfields since November 2015 before getting a surprise call a few weeks ago to say his services were no longer required at Dover Road. He had previously been Carter’s No 2 at Horndean.

Now, though, he has been installed on the coaching side by new Baffins management team Shaun Wilkinson and Danny Thompson.

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‘I got a call from Danny, he’d seen I’d left Moneyfields and Baffins were keen to get me on board,’ said Jones.

‘I know Danny from having played alongside him at Fareham, and I know Wilko from having played a few Havant Legends games with him.

‘It’s an interesting project they’ve got, they want to progress - it all sounded good, it ticked all the boxes.

‘Wilko’s just starting out so I’m more than happy to help him out - between the three of us there’s a good mix, we’re the right age, it’s all pointing in the right direction.

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‘They’ve brought Phil Ashwell in as physio, I know him from Havant. Getting the right people in off the pitch is important, as that provides a good environment for the players - and we’ve already signed some good players.

‘I’ve won the Wessex twice as a player, and won promotion as the assistant at Moneyfields, I’ve won the league above - I’ve got plenty of experience.’

Jones’ two Wessex titles were within three seasons of each other - first helping Winchester City lift the silverware in 2005/06 followed by another championship triumph at AFC Totton in 2007/08.

He had previously played for Havant & Waterlooville when they won the Southern League South Division title in their first season, 1998/99.

Jones admitted he was shocked to leave Moneyfields.

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‘I had a call right out of the blue. It wasn’t my intention to leave,’ he explained.

‘I’d been speaking twice a week with Dave about plans for next season, new players.

‘Having been with him for seven years - and having always had his back - I was a bit disappointed. It was a bit hard to take after all the work I’ve put in.

‘I’ve had calls from committee members saying they are sorry to see me go, and they couldn’t understand why.

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‘I have all the tools in my box to be a manager one day, but I was more than happy to stay at Moneyfields and help the club, but that wasn’t to be the case.’

Jones’ time at Moneyfields was predominantly a successful one, with the club winning promotion to the Southern League in 2016/17 and reaching the Southern League Division 1 South play-offs two years later.

A number of factors - injuries, players leaving, bad weather, suspensions - contributed to Moneys spending most of 2019/20 in the lower reaches of Division 1 South.

‘Last season was a bit of a disappointment, but luckily for me that’s null and void now. I’ll take null and void as it makes my record look a little better!’ Jones quipped.

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Recalling the club’s 2016/17 promotion - they had won the league but were pushed back to second after having three points deducted for fielding an ineligible player - Jones remembered: ‘That was the plan.

‘The club wanted us to get promotion, that was the remit. From having played in the Southern League myself, I knew what we needed to do.

‘Losing the title on a clerical error was hard to swallow at the time, but when I look back now it’s still a promotion

‘The move up to the Southern League is a big step, one of the biggest in football, from step 5 up to step four.

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‘Moneyfields, where they had come from, had no history higher up the league and we were playing some big clubs - Rushden, Bedford Town. And even when we moved across to the Southern League we were playing the likes of Bideford, big clubs in Devon.

‘It’s a difficult jump, but the club coped with it and I’m happy with the work I contributed.

‘The Wessex is a good standard but you could turn up some days with five or six players playing well and you’d win.

‘In the Southern League you needed to train better, prepare better, because you could have eight or nine players playing well and you’d still lose.

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‘But for the players prepared to put in that time and commitment, it can be rewarding - you play on some good grounds, the crowds are larger, you play in the FA Trophy and you could win through a couple of rounds in the FA Cup.’

Carter, meanwhile, confirmed it was his decision to release Jones. ‘I just felt I needed to freshen things up, make a few changes,’ he said.