The boss will appear in the Town dugout for a landmark occasion against The Black Cats and his focus is firmly on putting disappointment from last Sunday behind him and getting back to winning ways.

Re-assessing the defeat against Watford, Jones said: “Everything we are about we didn’t do and that is really tough and hard to take. I don’t mind talking about it because at the end of the day it becomes an elephant in the room.

“It is a performance we were apologetic for and a performance that we will be working extremely hard never to repeat, not just against Watford but against anyone. It was an inept performance and categorically different from the two which came before it, which resulted in six points.”

On his 300th match in charge, the Welshman admitted: “I’ve got to be honest with you, I’d have been proud to reach 30, but to reach 300 is a fantastic achievement and I’m very, very proud of that at a wonderful club like this.

“When you set out as a manager you want to survive first and foremost, you don’t just think ‘I want to survive and I want to impact’, but the way that the game is, then it’s very, very difficult and to be surviving in the Championship now means that you’re doing something right.

“I've got a great club, great group of players and a great support staff all around me, so to get to 300 you don't do that on your own. To get to 300 at one club is fantastic and obviously I’ve managed I don't know how many it is elsewhere with Brighton and Stoke, so it's very good. When I set out, it is 299 more [matches] than I thought I would get."

Looking ahead to Sunderland, Jones is hoping to be able to call upon some who have missed out through injury and illness.

“Anyone that isn’t available today [Thursday] won’t play on Saturday, we can’t take that kind of risk. We have people back now, we have one or two back from injury so we’re in a stronger position.”

Fred Onyedinma missed the match against Watford and the manager provided an update on the 25-year-old’s fitness.

“After the Norwich game, he had a bit of a groin issue, so we’re assessing him daily to see if he’s going to be available to really impact on a Championship match.

"We won’t risk him, we risked him last time away at Fulham, he came back from a groin [injury] and then inadvertently tweaked his hamstring which kept him out of the play-off games. It’s a precaution, but we’ll have to see how he responds.”