Phil Jones admits he will learn from the bitter experience of losing out on the Barclays Premier League title on goal difference in dramatic circumstances on the final day of the campaign.
Last summer’s recruit from Blackburn took the news of Manchester City’s two late goals as hard as anybody at the Stadium of Light but at least he received a boost with a call-up to England’s Euro 2012 squad.
Despite his international commitments, the 20-year-old is already relishing the chance to claim the title back from Roberto Mancini’s Blues once the new season gets underway in August.
“It was mixed feelings at the final whistle,” he recalled to ManUtd.com. “I thought we’d pulled off the impossible at first, we thought QPR had done us a massive favour with a difficult task of going to the Etihad. But then City scored two goals in quick succession and that killed us.
“I’ll take that on board with what I’ve learned this season. It’s been a massive learning curve for me and I’ve played a lot of games this season and I’ve really enjoyed playing.”
Such a fine line between success and failure brought things into perspective for Jones who admits to experiencing a ‘whirlwind season’.
“Of course, that’s football,” he admitted. “Things like that can happen and we’ve perhaps been a bit unfortunate this season but so be it. City have won it this year but hopefully we’ll be back next season, fighting and ready to go again.
“It’s been a whirlwind season for me. We’ve been unfortunate with injuries this season which has
probably enabled me to play more games than I expected.
“I’ve really enjoyed it and I feel like I’ve really progressed and come on as a player. It’s a massive learning curve for me. Being at United in my first season has really given me an insight into the passion and drive the club has.
“The history speaks for itself and we’ll do it the United way, we’ll bounce back and we’ll go again next season.”
