Jones Makes Step In Right Direction

Phil Jones feels he is still short of match fitness but playing the full 90 minutes in Manchester United Under-21s' 1-0 win over Middlesbrough was a real step in the right direction.

The 24-year-old made his comeback from injury with 76 minutes in last week's Under-21 draw with Chelsea at Old Trafford and marshalled the defence at the Theatre of Dreams when keeping a clean sheet in the key victory over Boro.

Warren Joyce's side need two points from the final three matches to retain the title and Jones feels it was a valuable run-out in his quest to regain a first-team spot.

"Last week, I played against Chelsea and it was difficult coming back for my first game in a while," he told MUTV. "It's always difficult fitness-wise and your sharpness is always way off so it was nice to play 90 minutes and I'm looking forward to the coming games.

"That's the idea [to get back in the first team] but I've still got a long way to go with my fitness and getting the sharpness back. This was a good step in the right direction."

Wayne Rooney played for an hour, as planned, and is expected to be in contention for Wednesday's crunch Emirates FA Cup replay at West Ham United.

"It was nice to see Wazza out there," added Jones. "He's a talented player and is getting back to fitness. Hopefully, he won't be far away either."