Jones: “I Was Looking for a New Challenge”

Aaron Jones is set to offer his new side bags of experience and a real calm head at the back, with the reaction from Aldershot Town fans to his exit being telling to what he can bring heading into the 2024/25 season.

Having signed for the Shots’ National League rivals Sutton, Jones had opted to give up the offer of a new contract at the EBB Stadium, fresh off lifting the Isuzu FA Trophy as Club Captain, and is a testament to the project shown to him by his new Head Coach, Steve Morison.

“Its’s a great feeling to join the club”, Aaron said, “it’s been a busy summer with things happening and moving parts but I’m delighted to be here and I can’t wait to get started with the season now”.

“I was at Aldershot last season and we had a great year. We obviously won the FA Trophy but I was looking for a new challenge and when I spoke to the manager I think it was clear that the club wants to push in a positive direction; there’s lots of ambition and was something I definitely wanted to be a part of.”

Having started out in his career with ten years in the Ipswich Town academy, Jones will know what it takes to make it as a footballer, as well as what it takes to grow into the man he has become ever since departing Portman Road.

“When you join a club at eight years old – and I was there all the way through until I was 18 – you learn a lot.”

“It becomes a massive part of your life and the people around become like your family. They taught us good values like discipline and hard work and structure in your life which I’ve taken away from the club since I left”.

Despite working his way up the ranks during his spell in Suffolk, Jones had the chance to embark on a journey away from his homeland, and spent a significant chunk of his life over in the United States of America, having been offered the chance to join Georgia State University. It was his time in the North Atlantic that allowed him to grow at a young age, having made the brace decision to move so far from home.

“I had an offer to stay [at Ipswich] and sign a one-year pro deal in the Football League, but it would have been Under-23’s football”

“I was always into my studies and I thought what a great opportunity to go over there, get a fully funded education and still play football everyday. If you’re good enough when you graduate at 22, there’s no reason to say you won’t go and become a professional footballer which was the ultimate goal”.

“I had an unbelievable experience out there and I think I ended up spending five and a half years collectively in the States, graduated in 2016 and then went on to get drafted into the MLS by Philadelphia Union.”

While he had described his time in the US as a unique and special experience, a return home seemed inevitable for the then 24-year old. A move to King’s Lynn Town, a side just 66 miles west of his birthplace in Great Yarmouth, came about in 2018, with Jones contributing to an incredible rise from the Southern League to the National League across the span of just three seasons.

“I found the transition from America back to England quite tough. I had spent such a large time out in the States that to come back and adjust to our way of living again was difficult, but I ended up signing for my local team, I thought I’d stay close to home and we had an unbelievable group that year”.

“We got promoted that season, went into the National League North; obviously being one of the most southern teams in that league we knew that we’d be up against it and I don’t think anyone would have predicted a part-time team would be able to go and win the league that year.”

“Two back-to-back promotions and then during that period we went from being part-time to transitioning to full-time when we went into the National League”.

“It was incredible to go through that journey with the club.”

While winning successive promotions could have been seemed as the pinnacle of his career, the decision to follow manager Tommy Widdrington from the Linnets to Aldershot in 2023 kick-started a spell of full trust from his boss, being named Vice-Captain and later Club Captain, and subsequently meant Jones was the one to lead the team out at Wembley Stadium, before going on to life the FA Trophy following a 3-0 win over Spennymoor Town back in April.

“I owe Tommy Widdrington a lot. When he came in at King’s Lynn, replacing [Ian] Culverhouse, he was brilliant with me and when my contract expired and moved to Aldershot, I got the phone call and joined him at the Shots.”

“I had a great two years there. We had a great FA Cup run in my first year; got to the Third Round and played away at West Brom[wich Albion], narrowly missed out on play-offs.”

“Then this year the league campaign wasn’t great, I think we finished 16th in the end, but to go and lift an FA Trophy in front of 19,000 fans was an incredible day and one I’ll never forget. No one will ever be able to take that away from me.”

Alongside an abundance of experience, Jones comes into quite a young Sutton side as one of the older players in the squad, as well as displaying his leadership qualities as captain of Aldershot. The right back commented on this as a key reason

“I’ve played a lot of National League football; I don’t know the exact number but it’ll be in the hundreds now. I like to think I can bring a lot of experience to this group and I’m obviously new coming into the group so it’ll be a chance for me to get to know everyone and see what the culture is like.”

“I try and do everything the right way, I don’t cut any corners and I expect that from my teammates as well, I think it’s important this year if we’re going to have a strong season the standards need to be really high and everyone needs to be on board, making sure we have a strong collective intention together.”