Kenwyne hoping to impress new boss

Jul 23 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

KENWYNE Jones will look to make the most of a first chance to impress new manager Steve Bruce when Sunderland take on Benfica in the Amsterdam Tournament tomorrow night.

Jones returned to full training yesterday in time to make the squad’s flight to Holland and is expected to feature at some stage over the weekend.

Given Bruce’s high-profile search for a new target man, there is pressure on Jones to prove he should still be regarded as the Black Cats’ first-choice striker.

Had Bruce succeeded in his ambitious attempt to sign England international Peter Crouch, Jones may well have started the new season on the bench – which raises questions about how highly he is rated by his new boss.

Bruce tried to play down the significance of his attempt to sign Crouch by arguing every Premier League club needs four strikers to be able to cope with the rigours of a tough campaign.

However, Jones has been considered virtually undroppable, when fit for most of his time at the Stadium of Light and Bruce will be fascinated to see how he responds to that clear challenge to his status on Wearside.

Although the Trinidad and Tobago international was Sunderland’s main attacking threat last season, there is still criticism he does not score enough goals for a top-class centre-forward.

His partnership with Djibril Cisse was also major letdown and there were persistent rumours the two did not get on behind the scenes, something Bruce will hope was just an isolated personality clash.

Some also felt the 24-year-old was guilty of slipping into the comfort zone once he was given a new contract in January following high-profile interest from Tottenham Hotspur – something Bruce has made clear will not be tolerated on his watch.

Whether Bruce makes a decisive move for Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh following the collapse of the Crouch deal remains to be seen, although the Bordeaux player is adamant Sunderland are interested.