Brad Jones has said he has played in more Liverpool first-team games

Brad Jones has said he has played in more Liverpool first-team games than he expected this season - as he prepared to return to the bench.

Brad Jones: Has deputised for Reina this season

Jones, 31, has played in the Merseysiders' last two Premier League games because first-choice goalkeeper Pepe Reina has been out with a calf injury.

Those appearances took his tally for the season to 15, a huge increase for a 'keeper who played only four times in his first two years at Anfield after arriving from Middlesbrough in August 2010.

The Australia international rarely featured under Roy Hodgson or Kenny Dalglish, but Brendan Rodgers has sought to use him more often in cup competitions.

Reina's struggles with injuries at various stages of the season have given Jones the chance to play seven times in the league.

But with the Spain international fit again, he is likely to be back on the bench when Liverpool visit Aston Villa on Sunday.

Jones told the Liverpool Daily Post: "To have had 15 appearances is probably more than I would have thought I'd have got at the start of the season.

"I feel as though, in the majority of them, I have performed fairly well, so I'm happy.

"Obviously circumstances dictate when I am going to get those games and things like that, but I am more than happy to have had those games.

"I wouldn't mind a few more, but I think it's been a decent season, all in all."