Phil Jones Says He'll Always Be Grateful to New Everton Boss Sam Allardyce

Manchester United defender Phil Jones has lots of appreciation for Everton manager Sam Allardyce, a coach he insists he will always be grateful to.

Jones played under Allardyce during the manager's time at Blackburn, and got his chance in the team. That ultimately led to United signing him for a fee believed to be £16.5m.

IAN KINGTON/GettyImages

Allardyce, who has a reputation for getting teams out of trouble, has already turned things around at Everton since coming in. And Jones is quite impressed.

"Wherever he's gone throughout his career, he's always gotten results that he needed and that's why Everton brought him in," the defender told Sky Sports.

"They've had a massive change in results and they got quite a few clean sheets recently. So I think they're definitely on the up and he's steadied the ship.

Asked how big of an impact Allardyce had on his career, Jones joked that the gaffer had little choice, but he's very thankful to have gotten his shot anyhow.

"He was the one who gave me the chance in the Premier League, gave me my debut and wasn't afraid to put me in, albeit there was no one left," he said. "But you know I owe him a lot of thanks for that and I'll be forever grateful.

"As a young player, you need as much support as possible. He certainly gave me that and gave me the chance, like I said and I'll be forever grateful for that.

Jones will go up against his old boss when the Red Devils play against Everton at Goodison Park on Monday, and it will certainly be interesting to see how they fare.