‘I’ll never speak to them again’ – Phil Jones opens up on emotional moment he quit Man Utd WhatsApp group after retiring

PHIL JONES says leaving the England and Manchester United WhatsApp groups were some of the most difficult moments of retirement.

The 33-year-old left boyhood club Blackburn Rovers to sign for Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and won the Premier League, FA Cup and Europa League.

Jones spent 12 years at Old Trafford and also won 27 caps for the Three Lions, but after a number of injury struggles he called time on his playing career last summer.

Discussing the hardest parts of retirement, he revealed that departing the WhatsApp groups was one of the toughest.

Jones said: “Believe it or not, it was quite emotional. I’d been on the WhatsApp for years and banter and you’re sending people pictures and all sorts.

“I remember sitting in the bedroom going like, ‘Lads, it’s been a pleasure and blah blah blah. Some I’ve played with a lot, some I’ve only just met, but it’s been an absolute pleasure. I wish you all the best and I’ll be your biggest supporters.’ It was a tough moment actually.

“Do you know what I gave it a minute and there was no response. I was like ‘gone, gone, gone, I’m gone!’ No-one cares. But that’s it. It’s football.

“Things move so quickly and people come in. I played with people for six years. I will never see them again. I’ll never speak to them again.”

Jones admitted he could not watch football for the first six months, saying: “I found myself getting really bitter towards the game and that’s not who I was, but I needed that time to reflect and come to terms with what happened and how it happened.

“I look back now and I’m in a great place.”

Jones then embarked on a return to the game, doing a football directorship course and then completing his Uefa coaching A Licence while working with United’s U18 squad.

He sat down with SunSport while doing his FA Pro licence badge at St George’s Park last week and said: “It was nice for the first few weeks, but then after that I was getting itchy feet and ready to embark on something, which is why I went down the director’s route just to give me a different sort of focus to football.

“But my bread and butter is on the grass and it’s what I really enjoy doing. I know exactly what I want to do, where I want to be.

“I’m ambitious as I was as a player. I wanted to play at the highest level, compete against the best players in the world.

“I love being out on the grass, working with kids, watching players develop. Whether that’s at United, or that’s elsewhere, I love watching new players come through.

“I’ve been lucky enough to help out with U18s at United, which has given me a different perspective on the game now.

“I don’t watch a game any more, you’re analysing it a little bit differently. I love the game. I love everything about it. I love being involved in it.

“It’s given me a purpose and I’m really ambitious and it’s something that I really want to go into.”

Jones has seen the likes of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard both endure difficulties in the dug-out but is still determined to do it rather than earn an easier living as a pundit.

He added: “I just feel that I’ve got too much to offer with the managers I played under and the players I played with just to go, you know what, I’ll leave it there.

I found myself getting really bitter towards the game and that’s not who I was

“I want to be involved. I love being involved. The media work I’ve enjoyed. I’ve enjoyed it more than I actually thought I would but my bread and butter is certainly on the grass and coaching and going into that.

“Listen, I’m not naive enough to think that I’m going to become a head coach or a manager in the next two or three years.

“I understand that now I’m on the other side of the ladder where I’ve got to work myself up and build myself up. But I’m absolutely ready to do that and my family knows that.

“When I visualise and try to manifest where I want to be in five years time, absolutely, I want to be the guy taking the team.

“I want to be the guy making the decisions and having support and backing from the club and the owners and choosing that right moment to step in at that time.

“I want to win games of football and I win at all costs. Whether that means I have to change personnel, whether that means I have to go down a different route to get results. It’s a results business game. Of course we all want to play expansive, attractive football but it doesn’t always work like that.”

Jones, who had awful luck with injuries in his career, also backed Luke Shaw to bounce back from his “terrible” spell on the sidelines.

He said: “I feel so sorry for Mason (Mount) and Luke. The feeling for me was almost an embarrassed feeling.

“You’re at Man United, the biggest club in the world and all you want to do is play football.

“I love playing football, I just loved playing football like a little kid, and when you can’t do something, you have something taken away from you, it’s difficult to deal with.

“You have the fans, you have social media. I can absolutely sympathise with them.

“What I would say is they’ve got to come back to a state where they feel comfortable playing.

“Medical staff these days will always try and promote you to come back sooner, but they’ve got to feel right in themselves, feel confident that they’re ready to come back and play and compete at a high level.

“I absolutely sympathise with them. It’s a really, really terrible and tough place to be.”