Ex-Portsmouth and Norwich keeper bidding for King's Lynn first-team - four-and-a-half years after last league outing

Now Paul Jones is eyeing regular first-team football after today joining non-league King’s Lynn.

The goalkeeper totalled 64 appearances in two seasons before leaving Fratton Park by mutual consent in August 2016.

However, subsequent spells at Norwich, Exeter, Fleetwood and Sheffield Wednesday yielded just five further appearances.

Intriguingly, none of those arrived in the league action.

Now, after leaving Sheffield Wednesday in July 2020, Jones is back in football.

The Norwich-based 34-year-old has signed up for King’s Lynn – Pompey’s second round FA Cup opposition from last season.

And he’s relishing his opportunity at the National League club.

Jones told Lynn News: ‘I have got a young family indoors and, with all of the circumstances going on, the offers I was having were a long way from home and I didn’t want to do that.

‘That is why King’s Lynn ticked a lot of boxes for me, where I am at age-wise, family-wise, location so it just suits everything for me and hopefully it suits the club as well.

‘As a youngster, it never bothered me where I was because I didn’t have kids or a partner and it was just me forging out a career plan in football, but now that has changed.

‘I'm 34 at the moment and when I initially started all those years ago you always have in your head I want to hit 40 and still be playing.

‘I can’t wait to get started with Paul Bastock (assistant manager). He played into his forties so, going by him, I’ve got a good 10 years left. I am excited, I am looking forward to working on the training pitch with him.

‘I always believe that no matter what age you are you can always improve and that is what I want to do under him.

‘You drop down from the Football League and there are good quality clubs already in this league.

‘It is a tough league to get out of, but you go into every Saturday and want to win. It is just good competition, it is a good league to be in.’

Andy Awford signed Jones from Crawley in June 2014, with the goalkeeper going on to be ever-present in the League Two 2014-15 season.

However, he fell out of favour under Awford’s replacement, Paul Cook, and was moved on after David Forde’s loan arrival from Millwall.

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