(Manchester United News)
"We're trying to treat it as any other game but we all know it's not like any other. It’s a fixture the fans and the players look out for at the start of the season and it’s a game with passion and rivalry, and we want to win."
- Phil Jones, on MUTV
12/04/2015 08:45, Report by Gemma Thompson
Phil Jones says Manchester United's players are preparing for City's visit to Old Trafford on Sunday like it's "any other game", but the Reds defender knows this fiercely-contested derby is unlike any other fixture.
Louis van Gaal’s men start the game a point ahead of City in the league table having been seven points behind at the end of the last meeting between the pair back in November, when City ran out 1-0 winners at the Etihad Stadium.
Much has changed since then, with United now third and producing the team's best form of the season, while City have lost three of their last five league games. But Jones isn’t studying the form tables expecting any great advantage, and instead insists the Reds must be ready for a battle.
"I don’t think it [City’s recent form] matters one bit when you look at the quality of their players and what they can do,” he told MUTV. “We’ll study what they’ve done in the last few weeks, but the main focus has to be on us and how we’re going to go about trying to win the match.
"We're trying to treat it as any other game but we all know it's not like any other. It’s a fixture the fans and the players look out for at the start of the season and it’s a game with passion and rivalry, and we want to win. Our performances against Spurs and Liverpool were probably our best all season. But it’s no good beating teams like that if you can’t carry on and keep putting in good performances. We know we need to keep doing that.”
Asked if United’s foreign stars understand the importance of the fixture to the city of Manchester, Jones declared: “They’re fully aware. They’ve all played in their own derbies at the clubs they grew up with and have played for, so they know what to expect and how it will be on Sunday. Hopefully it'll be great for us.
“I don’t think any words need to be said before games like this,” he continued. “Every player knows the magnitude of the game and how important it is to the fans. We need to perform and hopefully carry on showing the form we’ve shown recently, especially at home, and win the game.”
