Jones hopes Hylton isn't gaining a bad reputation

The forward has already served two suspensions already this term, for his red against Doncaster Rovers, plus accumulating five yellow cards too.

Hylton will be banned again if he reaches 10 bookings before March, as speaking after the game on Saturday about his caution, he said: “I’ve got myself to blame a little bit, maybe sometimes your reputation might go before you.

“I don’t mean to get booked, but I suppose I can be a bit of a nuisance. I’ve got to be a little more clever at times, which I struggle with.”

However, Jones defended his player and doesn’t believe Hylton deserves the amount of bookings he picks up.

He said: “I don’t know, I hope not, because his reputation, anyone who knows him, is one fantastic lad.

“Yes he can be a bit of a nuisance or a pain in the bum, but there’s nothing malicious about him, he doesn’t go throwing his elbows about, he doesn’t top people, he’s just a nuisance, a whole-hearted, grafter, honest person and I love the kid.

“If his reputation goes before him, that’s wrong, because he’s not a bad one, doesn’t put in bad tackles, doesn’t play on the edge in terms of that way.

“Yes he’s a nuisance, but we love him and he does a great job for us.”

Hylton’s yellow at the weekend came in bizarre fashion as after fouling Ethan Ampadu when the ball went out for a goal kick, he was then shoved to the floor by keeper Bobby Olejnik, as both players saw yellow from official John Busby.

Jones felt that referees should take their time and not be so quick to get their notebooks out in future, as he continued: “I don’t understand what they see sometimes, I just think you can manage a game.

“They’re too quick to get out yellow cards for little petty things, because it’s easy to do it, but they all add up and they cost teams lower down with smaller squads and so on.

“They just need to eradicate the real bad tackles, elbows, nasty things that cost people careers.

“We had two nasty challenges here in the last home game, that warranted yellow cards and probably red cards, but weren’t given and then these little petty things can be managed by a referee, that’s what they’re there for.

“It’s not to book people and to be authoritarian, it’s to keep the flow of the game going and make sure the players are in line.

“Sometimes you can manage that with your attitude, your demeanour, the way you speak to them, it doesn’t have to be a flurry of yellow cards.”

Despite the caution, Hylton went on to net two penalties in the tie at the weekend, reaching double figures for the season already, the quickest Hatter to do so since Stuart Fleetwood in the 2012-13 campaign.

He is just four away from the tally managed at Oxford last term too, and after making the forward one of his priority signings in the summer, Jones added: “I’ve been impressed all-round by him, but I knew what I was getting as I’ve known Danny for a while and just delighted to have him here.

“How he is around the club, his attitude, his work-rate, what he does for the team is superb and then the goals are just the icing.

“I know what I get from him and we’re pleased he’s ours.”