At the end of last season experienced goalkeeper Lee Jones spent the final few months of the campaign on loan at Darlington from Blackpool and his arrival coincided with an improved run of results that almost took the Quakers into the play-offs. However, the 36-year-old has since been released and to make matters worse he now requires surgery on a groin problem that will keep him on the sidelines until mid-August. So Jones now finds himself in the frustrating position of being without a club for the start of the new season and in need of an operation before he is ready to play again. Givemefootball's Mark Shail is the man armed with the questions.
Q:WHAT'S THE LATEST ON YOUR INJURY?
A:I picked up a groin injury at the end of last season and Darlington have delayed the operation so it's been a really frustrating time for me. I'm actually having the surgery done in two weeks time but by then I'll out of contract and out of a job so I really should have had it done earlier.
Q:YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED NOT TO BE OFFERED A PERMANENT DEAL AT DARLINGTON?
A:Yes I was. Manager Dave Penney took me there on loan last season and things went really well – in fact I don't think we lost for the first 12 games I was there. He then extended my loan until the end of the season and we ended up just missing out on the play-offs. But then I was told that they were looking for a younger goalkeeper for next year so I wasn't going to be offered a new deal.
Q:AND WITH THE INJURY IT MUST MAKE THINGS VERY DIFFICULT TO FIND A NEW CLUB RIGHT NOW?
A:It's very annoying. I’m having the operation on the fifth of July and the specialist has told me that it will take about two weeks before I'm ready to start doing light training. But by then most teams will be back for pre-season training so it's a case of getting myself fit as soon as possible and then I might have to go somewhere on trial to try and prove myself.
Q:YOU'RE 36 NOW, HOW LONG TO YOU WANT TO CARRY ON PLAYING?
A:I hope I've got a few years in me yet. I'd like to thing I can keep playing league football for at least another couple of seasons. I'm just gutted that my injury situation hasn't been sorted out sooner. I thought I did well for Darlington last season and I'm sure I can do a job at another club at that level.
Q:WERE YOU SURPRISED HOW WELL YOUR FORMER CLUB BLACKPOOL DID LAST SEASON?
A:I was a bit surprised because they had a bad start to the season and Simon Grayson was actually under pressure to keep his job. But then he signed a couple of players and things really seemed to take off. They went on an incredible run in the second half of the season and they had the momentum with them in the play-offs. In the end I think they deserved to go up because they were the form team during the second half of the campaign.
Q:HOW DO YOU THINK THEY WILL FARE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP?
A:It's difficult to say because there are some big clubs in that division. As far as I know they have only released a couple of players so it looks like the manager is going to give the players who got them promoted a chance in the Championship. I sure they will have to sign a couple of players to strengthen the squad but a mid-table finish would be good for them.
