Kenwyne: Bring on Manchester United.
By: Ian Laws (Sunderland Echo).
Kenwyne Jones is readying himself for the most testing period of Sunderland's season. The last days of 2007 will see the Black Cats meet fellow survival hopefuls Reading and Bolton a pair of real six-pointers.
But they also have to raise their game against title candidates Manchester United at home on Boxing Day and Euro-shooters Blackburn – two clubs who have already beaten the Black Cats this term.
Jones has started every game since his £6million arrival from Southampton at the end of August.
The 23-year-old said: "The Premier League is tough physically. It's fast and you have to work hard to get the ball and make a chance to score.
"I've played up front alone a few times, but I'm fine with that and, like everyone else, I'm getting on with it and enjoying the experience.
"There's no point playing football unless you're going to enjoy it and there is going to be plenty of football for us in the next two or three weeks.
"We've got some big games and the pressure's on every one because of where we are in the league. We've got four games in something like 10 days, but a lot of us have just come from the Championship and we're used to how that feels and we know how to get through it."
The Black Cats will continue to feel wounded when they visit Reading's Madjeski Stadium this coming weekend after feeling they were robbed of a precious home win against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Referee Steve Bennett chalked off Danny Collins's last-gasp "goal" and Jones said: "It hurts when something like that happens. But you can't think the luck is going to be against you.
"We're bitterly disappointed about Saturday and maybe we should stay angry when we go to Reading and look to win there."
Trinidad & Tobago international Jones scored his first Sunderland goal in their 2-1 home win over the Royals in September.
Steve Coppell's men had an awful start, but have won four of the 11 Premier League games they've played since – while the Black Cats have tasted victory only once.
Jones said: "I'll be trying to do my best again and hopefully this time the result will go our way. Reading are a good team and have started to show that, but we can take confidence from a lot of our performances and we have already beaten them so that is a good thing for us to remember."
