After working wonders at Luton Town, Nathan Jones stepped up a level to become the manager of Premier League side Southampton, but his stay was incredibly brief.

Welshman Jones was a stalwart of several clubs in a playing career that spanned six teams, including Spanish sides Badajoz and Numancia.

The versatile left-back played over 100 matches for Southend and Brighton, where he was part of a side that won three promotions in five years.

He also spent seven seasons at Yeovil and captained the team that lost in the 2007 the League One play-off final.

After hanging up his boots he had spells in coaching at Charlton and Brighton, before taking his first full-time managerial role with League Two side Luton Town in 2016.

He led the Hatters to League Two promotion in the 2017/18 season and continued to make progress the following campaign which caught the eye of Championship side Stoke City.

Jones took the Stoke job in January 2019 but only won seven of the 38 games he was in charge and was sacked that November.

In 2020, he returned to Luton and guided them to a sixth-placed finish in the Championship during the 2021/22 season. The Hatters lost in the play-off semi-final, however Jones was named EFL Championship manager of the season.

His second stint at Luton was again cut short after he accepted a job in the Premier League as manager of Southampton in November 2022.

Southampton sacked Jones on February 12, 20223 with the club entrenched in a desperate fight for Premier League survival.

Five wins and nine defeats from his 14 games in charge left Saints seeking a third boss of the season.

In February 2024, Jones took the reins at League One Charlton, with the club three points above the drop zone and on a winless league run of 12 games.

 

Jones at Brighton

After spending five seasons as player at Brighton and Hove Albion, which included three promotions in five years, Jones became the club's assistant head coach in 2013.

During the following three years, he held a variety of different roles at the Seagulls, including first-team coach, assistant manager and caretaker manager

He stayed with the club until January 2016 when he was appointed manager by then League Two side Luton Town.

 

First success at Luton Town

Jones took his first full-time managerial role in the Football League, replacing John Still, and steered the club away from relegation in the 2015/16 season.

The following season he guided Luton to a fourth placed finish, but they narrowly missed out on promotion to League One after a 6-5 aggregate loss to Blackpool in the play-off semi-final.

In the 2017/18 campaign, Jones returned Luton to League One for the first time in 10 years after the club finished in the League Two runners-up spot, five points behind champions Accrington Stanley.

Free-scoring Luton took League One by storm in the 2018/19 season and were second in the table when Jones was snapped up by Championship side Stoke City in January.

Luton went on to win the League One title under interim manager and Hatters legend Mick Harford.

 

Grim times at Stoke

After a successful three year stint with the Hatters, Jones made the step up to the second tier of English football and took charge of Stoke City.

However, it was probably a decision he'll want to forget.

Jones won just three of the first 21 Championship games as he steered the club away from relegation and were left to settle for 16th place in the table.

This poor form carried on during the 2019/20 season, and after Jones only managed to collect two league wins out of a possible 14 he was fired after less than a year in charge of the club.

 

The return to Luton

Following his dismal spell at Stoke, Jones had some time out of football until the right project came along for him to resume his managerial career.

Despite leaving the club 18 months before, Jones surprisingly returned to Luton, replaced Graeme Jones who couldn't recreate the form the team had showed in the previous season.

Jones didn't leave the Bedfordshire-based club on the best of terms which made his return a bit sour for many Luton fans and he admitted he needed to 'regain their trust.'

Upon his return, he guided the club to safety from the Championship relegation zone, ending the campaign in 19th place despite the club lying in 23rd when he joined.

In the second season of his return, Jones got the club back to winning ways and miraculously guided them into the Championship play-offs.

Luton lost 2-1 on aggregate against Huddersfield but Jones won the Championship Manager of the Year award for the 2021/22 season.

 

Another flop with Southampton

Jones jumped ship at Luton once again in November 2022, taking the reins at Southampton after the relegation-threatened club sacked Ralph Hasenhuttl.

Luton were in 11th in the Championship table a point outside the top-six when Jones took the Premier League job.

Jones lost his first four Premier League games in charge of the Saints, and things didn't get much better after that.

After just fourteen games in charge, Jones was shown the door by Southampton - one of shortest managerial reigns in Premier League history.

Jones collected five wins and nine defeats, two of those victories coming against lower league opposition in cup competitions.

The brief highlight of Jones' stay included three back-to-back victories, including wins over Crystal Palace, Everton and knocking Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup.

Jones' departure was announced on Sunday, February 12, 2023 less than 24 hours after a 2-1 home defeat by 10-man Wolves left the Saints at the foot of the table four points adrift of safety.

 

Jones was appointed manager of League One Charlton on February 4, 2024.

He took over from Michael Appleton who was sacked last month after a run of 10 matches without a win in League One.

Jones arrived at the Valley with Charlton three points above the drop zone. They were beaten 1-0 by Derby in the last game before Jones became manager, which extended their winless league run to 12 games.

Jones, who coached the Charlton Under-21s in the 2012/13 season, told the club website: “I am extremely excited by the challenge in front of me at Charlton.

“It is a club that I have fond memories of from my time here and I want to play my part in moving the club forward.

“I have been approached by a number of clubs to get back into management, but I have been waiting for the right opportunity.

“From my conversations with the board and given the long-term nature of the contract, I can see there is a real appetite to build something here which I am really looking forward to being a part of.”

 

Nathan Jones personal life

The 49-year-old is a Christian and even has several religious tattoos across his body, he is very open about his faith and often references it in his interviews.

He has been married to Laurie Jayne Jeans since 2019.

 

Nathan Jones net worth

Jones' net worth is estimated to be between £1m and £5m.