Leeds v Birmingham FA Cup: Jones - We showed character
Jones was in charge of the side with boss Neil Warnock in his sick bed at home and he felt that in the end it was a good result after trailing at half time.
Speaking on Yorkshire Radio, Jones said, "The fact that we turned it around showed a bit of character.
"To come back from one down, it is a good result."
Leeds had gone in one down at half time after Wade Elliott was allowed too much time inside the Leeds half before unleashing an unstoppable shot from 25 yards out.
Jason Pearce and David Norris both had good chances for Leeds in the first half. Pearce saw an effort come back off the post and Norris was thwarted by a good save by Colin Doyle in the Birmingham goal.
Jones made changes at half time with Sam Byram and El Hadji Diouf coming on for the ineffective Ryan Hall and Aidy White and he felt the changes played a huge part in Leeds getting back into the game. "The changes at half time made all the difference," added Jones.
Leading goalscorer Luciano Becchio missed a great opportunity to bring Leeds level early in the second half when he fired straight at Doyle but it was the same man, who did bring Leeds level just past the hour.
Becchio was on the end of a good pass by Norris to guide his shot into the far corner of the net.
Any momentum Leeds could take from the goal was quickly quashed when an horrendous injury to young Birmingham defender Will Packwood held the game up for five minutes.
Packwood landed awkwardly after an aerial challenge with Becchio, breaking both his fibula and tibia. The young American international was stretchered from the field requiring oxygen.
The injury saw players from both sides looking distressed and not surprisingly, the game never got going again after the incident.
The sides will now meet again at St Andrews on January 15th.
Jones says the club are going to shut the training ground in a bid to get rid of the virus that has hit the squad.
Jones was in charge of the side today as manager Neil Warnock was one of those hit by the virus that has swept through the squad this week.
Speaking on LUTV, Jones said, "We are sending everybody away; no-one will be coming in at all until we feel everyone is alright.
"We are closing the training ground down for the first part of the week and let people stay at home."
Rodolph Austin was a late withdrawal from the squad after he arrived at Elland Road ahead of the game with Birmingham with symptoms of the virus.
The club were not willing to take any chances with the Jamaican international and the squad and sent him home.
Jones says they are still working hard to bring in new players and once they get one in more will follow, they just need a breakthrough.
Leeds have yet to bring in a new player in the January transfer window despite saying they wanted to do their business at the start of the window and not leave it until the end of the month.
Jones says the club are still hoping to bring in a new face before next weekend`s championship game with Barnsley. Speaking on LUTV, Jones said, "There is a possibility that we will have someone in before Barnsley."
Leeds have recently been taken over by GFH Capital, bringing new finance into the club and Jones says that clubs are rubbing their hands together when Leeds show an interest and inflating their asking price. "When Leeds United come knocking, everybody starts rubbing their hands and the financial aspect of any transfer including Leeds changes.
"We are aware of it and we might have to pay a bit over the odds just because of who we are," added Jones.
Leeds have tied down El Hadji Diouf and Ryan Hall to contracts at the club in the past month, with the pair coming to the end of their current deals at Elland Road.
The whites have won six of their last nine games to get back on the coattails of those in the play-off places. Jones believes that if they do have to pay slightly over the odds for their targets, he feels it will be money well spent, as they will finish off the jigsaw to the Leeds squad for the remainder of the season. "If we can get the right players at the club, we will get more than our money back with the players we have in mind.
"We need to get a break in this transfer window and if it does I can see it being a snowball effect.
"All I can say is, rest assured, with the boards backing, Neil is very active. Despite his illness, he has still been very busy and he will make something happen," continued Jones.
Leeds have been strongly linked with Nottingham Forest striker Dexter Blackstock in the past week whilst the club are still keen to strike up a deal to bring Michael Tonge back to the club after he recently spent three months on loan at the club.
Jason Pearce admitted that the side were not at their best in the draw with Birmingham City at Elland Road on Saturday.
Leeds trailed at half time but came back to earn a replay thanks to another goal from Luciano Becchio, his nineteenth of the season.
Pearce was happy with how Leeds came back into the game after a disappointing first half performance and he said the players showed grit and determination to get back into the game.
Speaking on LUTV, Pearce said, "It was a tough game. Birmingham came here and they played some good stuff in the first half.
"We were a bit disappointed going in at half time. I think we showed good determination and a bit of pride in the second half and got back into the game. We could have quite easily have won it but I think a draw was a fair result.
"I don`t think we were at our best today but we showed grit and determination to get a result."
The defender who signed from Portsmouth in the summer is still waiting for his first goal in a Leeds shirt and he came close to breaking his duck in the first half when he saw an effort come back off the post.
