Jones pleased by starring role

Phil Jones has been surprised at the number of appearances he has made for Manchester United in his first season at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson splashed out £18million to sign Jones from Blackburn last summer. As a raw teenager, it was envisaged United would ease the Chorley-born player in gradually.
However, partly through the energy of his early performances, partly through his ability to operate in a variety of positions and with Nemanja Vidic's season ending early due to a knee injury, Jones has been thrown in at the deep end.
Sunday's win over Swansea represented his 40th appearance of the campaign in all competitions, a figure Jones finds it difficult to believe he has reached.
"It has gone really well," he said. "If anyone had told me at the start of the season I would have made 40 appearances for Manchester United I would have snapped their hands off. It is incredible.
"I didn't expect it this season but it all started off really well. Perhaps I picked up a few injuries at the wrong time because at the back end of the season I couldn't really get my match fitness back. But now I feel good, fit and fresh and hopefully I can finish the season strongly."