Phil Jones looks ahead to "important" Sunderland clash

Phil Jones has insisted that Saturday's Premier League encounter against Sunderland is "important" to Manchester United.

A 2-1 defeat to Swansea City last time out saw the Red Devils drop to fourth in the Premier League table as the battle for Champions League places intensifies.

With that in mind, Jones has stressed the need for United to return to winning ways against the Black Cats at Old Trafford.

"It's an important game for us. It won't be easy, Sunderland are a tough team but we've done well at home recently and we need to bounce back from the defeat at the weekend," the centre-back told the club's official website.

"It's never nice to lose a game. We thought we played reasonably well [against Swansea], especially in the second half, but this will be another difficult match for us and one we need to win."

Last season, Sunderland recorded their first win away at United since 1968.