Sbragia will hand ‘still hungry’ Jones key role
May 18 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal
RICKY Sbragia has dismissed accusations that Kenwyne Jones has lost his hunger since he signed his new contract.
Amid much fanfare in January, Jones committed his future to the club by inking a four-and-a-half year deal that came with a huge pay rise for the 24-year-old.
The contract was hailed as a considerable coup for the club, but the goals have dried up for the Trinidad & Tobago international ever since. He has scored just three times since the turn of the year – a major factor in Sunderland’s flat-lining form. Sbragia has flatly denied that he is resting on laurels, instead laying the blame for his inconsistency with a series of knocks that he has suffered – and the strain of recovering from the serious knee injury that he suffered 12 months ago.
The Sunderland boss was also at pains to point out that the injury suffered in the Tyne-Wear derby back in February was a serious one. “The (knee) injury (a year ago) takes it’s toll. He gets a lot of knocks in games as well. At Newcastle he got one and sometimes when you get back as quick as he got back then you hit the wall physically after beings successful for five, six or seven games,” he said.
“He has taken a lot of bashes, knocks. His body has been through hell. We have had to play him near enough all of the games when it would have been nice to bring him in and out of games.
