Manchester United defender Phil Jones believes that his defensive partnership with Chris Smalling has failed to blossom because they have rarely played together as a centre-back pairing over the last few seasons.
The Red Devil signed Smalling from Fulham in 2010 and the following summer Jones joined the club from Blackburn. Sir Alex Ferguson believed that the young defensive duo would eventually replace Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic at Old Trafford.
However, things haven’t panned out the way the Scot planned; both defenders have often failed to remain consistent and have been plagued with injuries during their time at the club.
Jones admits that they have found it difficult to stand up the expectations at Old Trafford so far, but he also feels that injuries and the form of other defenders have rarely allowed both to play together as a centre-back pairing over the last few seasons.
However, at 25 and 23 respectively, Smalling and Jones have age on their side and the former Blackburn man is confident that the more they play together, the better they will get as a pair in the future.
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“It has been difficult for us," the England international told the club’s official website.
"It had been documented that me and Chris were going to be the next centre backs at United but it has not gone how we would have liked it.
"Somebody told me the other day that we have actually only played alongside each other about four times in four seasons.
“You cannot build a partnership on four games. Hopefully now we have had back-to-back games together we can keep it going and keep playing well together.
“We complement each other well.”
Smalling and Jones have been lauded for their defensive performances in Manchester United’s last two wins over Tottenham and Liverpool respectively.
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