“Great for my development”: PL winner with United credits club for recent coaching success

Former Manchester United defender Phil Jones is about to embark on a new coaching journey. United career Jones started his career with Blackburn Rovers but moved to Old Trafford in 2011. He won the league title in 2013 and impressed Sir Alex Ferguson enough that the legendary manager claimed Jones had the potential to be the club’s best ever player. Sadly, injuries took their toll, and Jones never looked anything like fulfilling his excellent potential. All in all, he played 229 times for United, scoring six goals in total. The defender finally retired in 2023 after barely kicking a ball in anger during his final four seasons at the club. Coaching career After retiring, he joined United’s under-14 and under-18 coaching teams and got a senior chance with Blackburn Rovers in February. He left that position this month and joined Sheffield United earlier this week. Learning Jones has given an interview to Sheffield United’s website discussing his coaching roles to date. Commenting on the opportunity to join such a historic club, he explained, “I think it’s a club that’s got rich history. I’ve played against them a lot of times over the years. I know exactly what they’re about, what the fans expect, and speaking to Chris (Wilder) and the staff, it was a project that I was really excited about.” Elaborating further on his new role, he explained, “I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve had some good conversations with him (Wilder) on how he sees the team and how he wants to play. The project’s there. I’m excited about it.” Reflecting on his previous experience, he claimed, “I think when I finished, it (coaching) was always something at the forefront of my mind, what I wanted to do, stay in the game. I spent a couple of years in the academy at Man United, which was great for my learning, my development. I got the call from Michael (O’Neill) to go in at Blackburn to the end of last season, which was really good. I really enjoyed it.” Phil Jones career stats ClubAppearancesGoalsYears Active Blackburn Rovers4002009-2011 Man United22962011-2023 The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Alex Browne Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Alex has a Master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast and La Universitat Rovira i Virgili in Tarragona, Spain. Having lived in the country since 2011, Alex is The Peoples Person’s Spanish football expert and is fluent in both Spanish and Catalan. He dreams of witnessing a United captain triumphantly hoisting the Premier League and Champions League trophy in the air once more.