Cardiff were only in the top two until a 1–0 defeat against Newcastle United which put Cardiff 8th. On 7 November 2009 Jones earned the Championship manager of the month for October, the same day Cardiff lost the first South Wales derby 3–2 at Liberty Stadium. At the end of the season Jones took Cardiff to their highest finish in the league in 39 years, 4th place, meaning they would take part in the play-offs. Cardiff beat Leicester at the Walkers Stadium 1–0, thanks to Peter Whittingham's free kick but lost the second leg 3–2, resulting in extra time. The match eventually went to penalties with Cardiff winning 4–3. In the Play-off Final at Wembley, Cardiff suffered a 3–2 defeat to Blackpool. In the 2010–11 season, Cardiff started the season with four wins out of five games. By the end of October, Cardiff had only lost two games and Jones received the October Championship Manager of the Month, whilst leading scorer Jay Bothroyd won Player of the Month. The club suffered a big loss of form in November and December, with only two wins out of nine games. They finished the season in 4th place behind rivals Swansea City. Cardiff then faced 5th placed Reading in the play-off semi-final, where they lost 3–0 on aggregate. Jones was later sacked from Cardiff City on 30 May 2011. Sheffield Wednesday Jones was appointed Sheffield Wednesday boss on 1 March 2012, replacing Gary Megson who was sacked the day before. His first official game in charge was against Bury and Wednesday came out 4–1 winners, the following game ended with a 3–0 win after three goals in the first ten minutes. After leading Wednesday to five wins and a draw during his first month in charge, Jones was awarded League One Manager of the Month for March 2012. Jones then led Wednesday to another five wins and a draw during his second month in charge and was awarded the Manager of the Month award for April 2012. On 5 May 2012, Jones led Wednesday to promotion from Football League One to the Championship after beating Wycombe Wanderers 2–0. Jones' first game in charge of Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship was a 2–2 draw away to Derby on 18 August 2012. Two home wins in the next two matches and a League Cup victory over Premier League side Fulham saw Jones stretch his unbeaten