[9] Later that year, Jones was homesick and moved back to England, later having a brief spell with Northern Premier League side Chorley where he played in the last four games of the season for The Magpies.
[4][10][11] After Chorley were relegated at the end of the 1998–99 season, Jones signed for fellow Northern Premier League side Leigh RMI in August 1999.
[13][14] He had a successful first season with The Railwaymen, scoring 18 goals in 40 games that helped RMI gain promotion to the Football Conference.
[11] On 19 August 2000, Jones started in Leigh's first game in the Conference, playing the full 90 minutes in a 2–1 defeat by fellow newly promoted side Dagenham & Redbridge.
[20] Jones attracted interest from a number of clubs in the close season,[21] Morecambe being the first to make a bid for the Northern Irishman in late May.
[28] Despite being a regular goalscorer in the reserves, Jones found first-team opportunities scarce in his first season at Crewe, so it was decided he would join Third Division side Rochdale on a month's loan in February 2002.
[29] He returned from his loan in April and featured in two of Crewe's remaining games in the First Division, coming on as a substitute in the away defeats to Gillingham and Wimbledon.
[30][31] Jones made his debut for Rochdale on 5 February 2002, playing the full 90 minutes in the 5–4 win against York City at Spotland Stadium.
[33] On 7 March, Rochdale manager John Hollins confirmed that Jones would stay at the club for at least another month, but the deal would involve a 24-hour recall option for Crewe.
[34] He made his final appearance for the club on 26 March in the 3–1 defeat by Plymouth Argyle, he came off the bench in 75th minute replacing Kevin Townson.
[36] He made his first appearance of the season on 13 August, replacing Dave Brammer in the 60th minute of the 3–0 defeat by Notts County at Gresty Road.
[45] A brace against West Ham United on 17 March 2004 took Jones' tally for the season to 16,[46] this coupled with the 20 goals scored by strike partner Dean Ashton helped Crewe to an 18th-place finish in the league.
[58] Jones made a scoring start to his Burnley career, netting both goals in the 2–0 win against Queens Park Rangers on the opening day of the season.
[67] After Owen Coyle replaced Steve Cotterill as Burnley manager in November, Jones was used mainly as a substitute, making his solitary league start of the season in the 1–0 win against Plymouth Argyle on 12 January 2008.
[71] Over the next month, he made two substitute appearances against Cheltenham Town and AFC Bournemouth respectively,[72][73] before he signed off his second spell at The Railwaymen with a goal in the 4–1 defeat by Oldham Athletic on 3 May.
[64] Having not featured in the first-team at all during the opening weeks of the 2008–09 season, he joined Huddersfield Town on an initial one-month loan deal starting on 17 October.
[79] Jones made his debut for League One side Huddersfield on 18 October 2008, playing the full 90 minutes in the 1–1 draw against Bristol Rovers at the Galpharm Stadium.
[80] He followed this up by playing the full 90 minutes in the 5–3 defeat at Hartlepool United three days later,[81] and after two subsequent substitute appearances against Yeovil Town and former club Crewe Alexandra,[82][83] he returned to Burnley on 26 November.
[90] He made his debut on 8 August in the 1–0 league win against Brighton & Hove Albion, he started the game before being substituted in the 65th minute for Richard Taundry.
[92] On 17 October, Jones scored a brace against Exeter City, bagging two first half goals in the 3–0 win at the Bescot Stadium.
[94][95] On 7 August, Jones started the opening league game of the 2010–11 season, playing the full 90 minutes in the 2–1 defeat against Milton Keynes Dons.
[99] He made his debut in the 2–0 league win over Hibernian on 22 January, he started the game and played 63 minutes before being replaced by Jonathan Page.
[106] Bristol Rovers offered Jones a two-year deal in the summer, but he rejected the chance to join the League Two club because he felt it was too far to travel and he wanted to stay local to his family in Crewe.
[124] He was dismissed after being booked twice within a minute in the 3–1 FA Trophy second round defeat against King's Lynn Town, firstly for a dive in the penalty area and then for an off-the-ball barge on Jordan Yong.
[136] Overall, he made 27 appearances for the club, the last in the 1–1 draw with Newtown on 26 April, and scored 5 goals, helping The Wingmakers to their most successful league campaign ever.
Jones signed for North West Counties Football League Premier Division side Whitchurch Alport in the summer of 2019.
[141] Jones left Whitchurch in February 2020 to sign for North West Counties Football League Division One South side Alsager Town.
[142] Jones signed for North West Counties Football League First Division South side Sandbach United in the summer of 2020.
[143][144] England manager John Owens selected Jones after Rushden & Diamonds winger Paul Underwood had to withdraw from the squad through injury.
[154] On 11 June, Jones made his first start for his country against Spain at Windsor Park, he played 73 minutes on the way to helping Northern Ireland to a 0–0 draw.