Matthew Kilgallon: I came to improve as a player

Feb 4 2010 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

MATTHEW Kilgallon will use Joleon Lescott and former centre-back partner Phil Jagielka as inspiration to make the most of his second chance as a Premier League footballer.

The York-born defender was a youngster learning his trade when he played in the top-flight for Leeds United. But after the Whites’ relegation he spent six years in the second tier.

Jagielka and Lescott both came to the Premier League at a relatively late age – from Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers respectively.

Both quickly gravitated to the full England squad and after joining Sunderland last month, the 26-year-old Kilgallon is hoping for similar success.

“As a defender I’ve obviously been encouraged by the likes of Phil Jagielka and Joleon Lescott,” he commented.

“They spent a lot of time in the Championship learning their trades and have done ever so well in the Premier League when they got the move up to that level.

“They’ve gone on to play for England, and that is fantastic for them.

“That is something I’d like to emulate because I feel as though the time was right for me to go up to the Premier League after my time in the Championship.

“They’re really good defenders and have made the leap up, so why can’t I? It does give you belief.

“The big difference is the quality of the strikers you are playing against. If you give a player a chance in this league they’ll take it. There is far less margin for error. Concentration is massive.”

Facing an in-form Everton side

containing the pace of Louis Saha and the aerial ability of Tim Cahill, Jagielka’s Sunderland debut was a torrid affair.

But just practising at the Academy of Light had been enough to remind Kilgallon of the gulf in class between the Championship and the world’s most glamorous football league.

“I could tell the difference between the Championship and the Premier League as soon as I stepped out onto the training pitch for the first time at Sunderland,” he recalled.