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: Obviously 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. We showed a bit of character though to come from 2-0 down and that it exactly what pre-season is for, because youre 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: The keyword last season was frustration so Im hoping to play a lot more games and make a good impact during the upcoming campaign. Pre-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.
What Culture contributor. NCTJ accredited Sports Journalist. Regret-filled Sunderland AFC season ticket holder. Optimism-filled NFL fan. Lover of all things Game Of Thrones, Breaking Bad, Walking Dead & more.
