Kenwyne will be targeted.
By: Nick Alexander (SAFC).[/size]
Roy Keane says Kenwyne Jones can expect to be a marked man in the Premier League following his exploits for Sunderland. Jones, 23, has impressed since moving to the Stadium of Light in September, scoring four goals in seven games for the Black Cats.
It means he is likely to find himself singled out by teams, but Keane believes the striker can overcome the challenge of being a marked man. The Sunderland manager said "Kenwyne has been great for us, a real bonus but I've got no doubt that teams are going to give him special attention. "He"s got four goals in his last six games and has become a real goal threat. He's been an important player for us so far and hopefully will continue to be for the rest of the season.
"I think it's inevitable that opposition sides are going to look at ways of marking him out of the game. "But it's one thing working out the danger that a player poses and quite another in dealing with that threat. A good player will generally find a way of hurting you - just like Kenwyne has done.
"There's no doubt that Kenwyne is a real handful and we've been pleased at how well he's adjusted - it's not just his goals that he contributes to the side.
"His overall play is a big help to us. As well as scoring against Fulham last week he also put in a great ball which Grant Leadbitter got on the end of and nearly scored, he showed great vision."
Keane is anxious to avoid too much pressure being heaped on Jones. He said: "We have to remember he is only 23 years old and still learning the game, it's important that not too much expectation is put on his shoulders. "Credit to him for taking that responsibility on but this is where it would have been good to get a bit more experience around him.
"It's a team game and while we are pleased with how well Kenwyne has done, everybody needs to produce if we are to continue to make progress in the weeks ahead."
Manchester City v Sunderland preview
Sunderland will be without suspended duo Paul McShane and Greg Halford for Monday night's Barclays Premier League trip to Manchester City. McShane completes his three-match ban, while Halford sits out after being sent off in the 1-1 draw with Fulham last weekend. Eighteen-year-old full-back Michael Kay could be included in Halford's absence, while midfielder Graham Kavanagh is back in contention after a loan spell at Sheffield Wednesday and Kenwyne Jones has recovered from a calf problem.
Dwight Yorke (calf) and Roy O'Donovan (ankle) are rated at 50-50, but Dean Whitehead (knee), Carlos Edwards (hamstring) and Andy Cole (calf) are still out.
Sunderland From: - Gordon, Ward, Kay, Nosworthy, Higginbotham, Collins, Harte, Etuhu, Yorke, Leadbitter, Miller, Wallace, Kavanagh, Jones, Chopra, Murphy, Stokes, Connolly, O'Donovan.
Related Jones News
You vote Jones top performer.
Kenwyne Jones has won the safc.com man-of-the-match award for the second game running. Fans voted Jones Sunderland's top player from their game against Fulham, with 67% of the votes. The striker, 23, scored his fourth goal of the season at the Stadium of Light on Saturday in the 1-1 draw. Grant Leadbitter came in second place and Liam Miller third.
safc.com's top three players v Fulham (as voted by the fans):
Kenwyne Jones 67%
Grant Leadbitter 13%
Liam Miller 9%
The winner of each man of the match poll gets three points, the runner-up gets two and the third best player gets one.
Here is how the table stands after 11 Premier League games:
Kenwyne Jones 11
Liam Miller 10
Craig Gordon 9
Michael Chopra 9
Grant Leadbitter 8
Paul McShane 6
Danny Higginbotham 4
Ross Wallace 2
Carlos Edwards 2
Nyron Nosworthy 1
Danny Collins 1
Dwight Yorke 1
Greg Halford 1
At the end of the season the points are totted up to reveal our star performer.
