United Defender Jones Admits He Owes Allardyce A Lot

Phil Jones is looking forward to the opportunity to test himself against the man who gave him his first chance in senior football when Manchester United take on Sam Allarydce's West Ham United on Wednesday evening.

Allardyce brought a teenage Jones into the Blackburn Rovers first team during his tenure at Ewood Park, giving the then-17-year-old defender his debut in a 1-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the League Cup in 2009.

Now 21, Jones will come up against his old manager for the first time in his career at Upton Park this evening as United look to build on their 2-0 win over Stoke City at the weekend, and although there is likely to be little time for sentiment between the United defender and his former boss, he concedes that he owes the West Ham manager a great deal for giving him his chance.

"It was great to play under Sam. I owe him a lot. He gave me my chance in Premier League football and he's a fantastic manager and a great person as well. It will be nice to see him again," Jones told Manchester United's official website.

Following their home defeat to Manchester City, United restored their winning mentality at the Britannia Stadium last Sunday, where Robin van Persie ended a 10-game goalless run with a well struck penalty that settled the game.

The Dutchman's barren spell was a stark contrast to his scintillating displays in front of goal earlier in the season, a rich vein of form that included a last minute strike against the Hammers in an FA Cup tie, his 22<sup>nd strike of the season.

Van Persie has only managed to add four more goals to his name since that third round cup tie at the beginning of January, but his manager believes last weekend's goal against Stoke could be the start of another rampant run of form that drives United over the finishing line.

"I know what strikers are like; when they are scoring they think they are going to score all the time, and when they're not scoring they wonder when the next goal is going to come along," Sir Alex Ferguson told the club's website. "So it was a great goal for Robin [against Stoke] in that respect, and hopefully he kicks on from there. "