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Thu, Mar

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Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones is already shaking his legs in anticipation of a return to this country’s National Senior Team for its Ash Wednesday international friendly against Guadeloupe.


The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation announced on Thursday that the game was arranged to kick start this country’s 2010 World Cup campaign and would be a warm-up encounter on the same day that the rest of the region begins the first round. T&T has a first round bye and will face the winner of the Bermuda/Cayman Islands tie in June.

Jones, a big hit with Sunderland in the Premiership is anticipating the start of the campaign.

“I think that the draw is straight forward. We  have a warm up game so to say (against Bermuda/Cayman Islands) then we are into a more sterner test  in a group that we can more than come out of. Once we get our house in order then we can get past that stage and get into the final six and push on further,” Jones told TTFF Media on Friday.

On the subject of a return home to play against Guadeloupe on February 6, Jones was happy to hear that he was back in the fold with some of his other teammates who have not played for T&T since a friendly international against Austria in November 2006.

“I m happy to be back in the fold again and I think is about time we get our house back in order. You look at Jamaica and you see they are making the steps to try and get their house in order to get the World Cup. Every Caribbean or African country wants to be in that World Cup because I think it’s special to a lot of  people. I think it’s right that we do put the steps in place so that we can move our football forward. For  far too long we have been making steps forward and making twice the amount of steps backward.”

The former W Connection player said he was taken aback couple weeks ago on the two-year anniversary of T&T’s World Cup qualification. But he thinks the occasion went unnoticed by the country.

“It was special in our minds but again as everything in Trinidad, it’s only celebrated as as a nine day wonder. After all was done it think it will be remember as a day we almost qualified with regards to 1989 too. I think it was sad to see that happen but life goes on. We have a chance to make history again so if we do make it to this one… it will stick,” Jones added.

He also sent his regards to Shaka Hislop in light of his tribute game and spoke of Sunderland’s aim to get some points in Saturday’s League encounter with Derby County.

“We need to get some points (against Derby). We need to relieve some stress after what happened last weekend (against Everton).

“Shaka has been a stalwart in the game and its; nice to see he’s having a tribute game and I wish him all the best for the rest of his life. We have these jokes between us and I think it’s about time he gets out of the game because he’s been in it for quite a long time,” Jones added with a laugh. “I’m happy for him and happy for the thing’s he’s done for the game and for himself and I wish him all the best.”