Hibs legend Rob Jones hungry for chance to coach and is open to offers from Scotland

All smiles from former Hibs captain Rob Jones as he takes his seat amongst the away fans for the Premiership play-off match against Hamilton in 2014. Pic: SNS Group Craig Williamson

A natural leader on the park, Rob Jones wants the chance to prove he can do a similar job from the touchline, and would be willing to return to Scotland to do so.

The former Hibs defender wore the armband for every club he played for, and helped deliver success in most cases, captaining the Easter Road side to League Cup glory in 2007, Sheffield Wednesday to promotion to the Championship 2012, and Doncaster Rovers to the League One title the following year.

A commanding presence at 6ft 7in tall, he viewed himself as a mentor on the pitch, coaching his team mates through the game while also heading anything that came his way.

He got a brief taste of life in the dugout – taking caretaker charge of Doncaster for six games following the sacking of Paul Dickov in 2015 – while up until recently, he was the head coach of the Richmond International Academic and Soccer Academy based in Leeds.

His CV screams manager material, which makes it all the more perplexing that the 40-year-old is still waiting for a club to pick up the phone.

Jones is currently working part-time in the youth academy at Middlesbrough, but his burning desire is to make the step into senior coaching.

"I'm looking for my next opportunity in full-time football be that coaching, managing, assistant – anything like that is what I'm looking for at the moment," he said.

"It's difficult, but I'm open to any offers or suggestions, and we'll see where we are as we go down the line.

"It would be lovely to get back in but like most footballers that have come out of playing, it's difficult to get jobs. Being honest, it's tougher than I expected it to be.

"You just keep plodding on, keep trying, and keep applying for things. One day something might drop on your lap that you're happy with and that excites you and you go with it."

Jones, who made more than 100 appearances for Hibs over three years and is revered by their supporters, threw his hat into the ring for the Easter Road job following Neil Lennon’s exit in January last year.

It is just one of a number of roles he has applied for since hanging up his boots three years ago, most recently missing out on the Barrow vacancy to former Blackburn Rovers midfielder David Dunn.

"It's not happened for me so far, but I'd like to hope that in the not too distant future someone says, 'Yep, he's for me'.

"I'm open to talking to anybody. I'll talk football all day long. I've got the badges and have managed before so in terms of a CV, it's full to capacity. Hopefully one day something will drop."

And if the opportunity arose to start his managerial career north of the border, Jones would jump at the chance.

"Very much so," he replied. "I did all my coaching badges in Scotland with Donald Park.

"I know Scottish football really well, and I know English football really well.

"I would never discount going back to Scotland. I had a very good time there and lots of fond memories."

There is no need to ask Jones his favourite memory from his time at Hibs.

Scoring a goal in a cup final – the opener in the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock at Hampden – before lifting the trophy as captain is the stuff dreams are made of.

"It's a place that's always full of good memories," he said. "My second child was born there, so that's a positive memory too and I try to get back as much as I possibly can."

Jones was part of a team that Hibs fans look back upon as a golden generation, with the likes of Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson and Steven Fletcher all beginning to make the breakthrough.

"It was quite a young side, but not a naive side," he recalled. "A much more driven side than I'd experienced before. You had to keep the reins on them every now and again but when you're 6ft 7in with a bald head and broken nose it makes it so much easier because they are a little bit scared of you when you start shouting.

"That Hibs team had an abundance of talent and not just the younger players but the older ones too. There was Guillaume Beuzelin who probably had the best first touch I've come across in my whole career, Ivan Sproule, Chris Killen, and boys like Stephen Glass and Paul Dalgish who had done it all before.

"I remember the first training session, it didn't shock me but it certainly enthused me to see how much talent was on show."