Jones Pleased With Perfect Test To Begin SAFC's Pre-Season

Full back hoping to stay injury-free this season.

By Michael Potts /

Billy Jones was in high spirits following the first game of Sunderland's pre-season, and will be raring to go when the season comes back around. The Black Cats came from two goals down to triumph 4-2 at Heritage Park, with Jones getting 74 minutes of action at the ground he made his red and white debut on last year. He told SAFC.com: €œObviously you want to start pre-season with a win. We knew it was going to be a tough game and knew was going to be competitive. €œWe showed a bit of character though to come from 2-0 down and that it exactly what pre-season is for, because you€™re going to make an error now and then and you need to get them out of your system before the start of the season. "Darlington made a really good start to the game and they gave us no time on the ball which is what we try to do in training, so to have that pressure in a game was a really good test for us.€ The 27-year-old full back suffered an injury-troubled season in 2014/15, but hit form towards the end of the campaign, and is hoping to cement a first team place come August. He said: €œThe keyword last season was frustration so I€™m hoping to play a lot more games and make a good impact during the upcoming campaign. €œPre-season is a massive part of that and last year my first hamstring injury came just before the start of the campaign, so hopefully I can come through pre-season without any problems and put my name in the frame for the game against Leicester City.€