Billy Jones discloses discussion held in Sunderland dressing room following Manchester City defeat

Follow us on Google Discover

Sunderland put up a brave fight against Manchester City but were unable to move themselves closer to Premier League safety.

Sunderland’s Billy Jones in action with Manchester City’s Yaya Toure

Billy Jones has disclosed that the Sunderland players were discussing after their defeat to Manchester City how they had set the standard that they must continue to reach if they hope to secure Premier League survival, the Chronicle reports.

The Black Cats’ survival hopes were dented somewhat as Pep Guardiola’s men left the Stadium of Light with all three points. However, David Moyes’ side can arguably take plenty of positives from the game as they asked questions of the top four contenders and made City work very hard for the win.

And Jones has suggested that once back in the dressing room, the players realised that they played at a level that they must emulate on a regular basis over the coming months.

“That’s the talk in the dressing room amongst ourselves that we need to hit that level, hit that standard, keep up that workrate, and have that application not just against the likes of Man City but against every team in this league,” he said, as reported by the Chronicle.

Sunderland manager David Moyes

“You have to be on it always, or else you’ll be punished.

“We have to hit that level of performance in every game until the end of the season and hope it will be enough to keep us in this league.”

The performance has arguably come at the right time for Moyes’ men as their situation in the top flight is starting to look much more bleak.

Sunderland’s John O’Shea talks with Didier Ndong and Lamine Kone

Sunderland are now six points off safety with 11 games to go, but they now have two weeks to build on the momentum before they play their next game.

But while it will hardly be a surprise if they perform as admirably against the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea, the real test will surely be in the remaining games against those around them in the table as they will not only need to raise their performance levels but, unlike against City, there will be a huge amount of pressure on securing a positive result.