Jacob Jones is enjoying his introduction to Scottish football having signed for Cove Rangers earlier this summer.
The 21-year-old Welshman joined Paul Hartley’s side on a two-year deal from Forest Green Rovers, having spent time on loan at Bath City and King’s Lynn last season.
Jones trialled for Premiership outfit Dundee FC this summer before moving to the Granite City.
He has started Cove’s opening League One games against Hamilton Accies and Falkirk – a 1-0 defeat and a 2-2 draw, respectively – and will be hoping to keep his place when his side face Montrose at Links Park today.
And having most recently plied his trade in England, the Swansea City academy product is revelling in the “physical” demands of Scottish football.
Jones said: “It’s been really good since I’ve joined. Being a full-back, it’s been about getting new partnerships with different wingers, centre-backs and midfielders.
“I’ve really enjoyed the way Scottish football is. It’s end-to-end, it’s not slow.
“It’s a lot quicker than what it is in England. In England, it’s more tactical and here it’s a lot more physical in terms of the running output, but I’m a fit lad so I think it really suits me.”
Jones backs new Cove squad to succeed
Jones, who is a former under-20 and under-19 Welsh international, is one of 20 new summer arrivals at Cove and believes the rebuilt squad are well on their way to picking up their first win of the league campaign.
He added: “We’ve got a couple of games under our belt together now and we’ve got the determination as a group.
“We’ve had a lot of good training sessions and games together now, so it’s a case of the responsibility and onus being on us as players to make it work on the pitch.
“I think it’s been a case of fine margins. It’s a brand new team and lots of new players, so we’re just gelling at the minute and I think as soon as it clicks then we will be away on fire.”
With this being his first season in Scotland, Jones admits he is lacking in knowledge about Cove’s League One opponents – but insists his experiences so far have left him expecting another difficult game against Montrose.
He said: “I don’t know too much about Montrose, to be honest, but all the league games are going to be tough.
“Every game in this league is going to be tough, so it has to be about us taking our game to them rather than us worrying about them.
“We’ve got to start by pushing our game onto them and getting the three points.”
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