Jonathan vows to stand his ground

Jonathon Grounds

JONATHAN Grounds is hopeful of staying on the suspension tightrope for at least one more game.

Athletic's ever-present left-back has been performing a balancing act of four bookings since picking up a yellow card when left isolated against Bury.

Hailing from the north-east town of Thornaby-on-Tees, ex-Middlesbrough academy man Grounds won't want to miss out on playing at nearby Hartlepool on Tuesday night.

First, he must get through Athletic's difficult clash at Bournemouth tomorrow — without picking up a fifth booking of the season which would see him banned from taking part at Victoria Park.

"If a challenge is there that I have got to make and I mistime it, that is the risk you take," said Grounds, who has been impressively consistent amid the team's recent ups and downs.

"Being on four bookings, you do need to watch which challenges you make and which you don't.

"But (Hartlepool) will definitely be a big game for me, with a lot of my family living in the area."

Grounds accepts that back-to-back home losses to Bury and Tranmere represent missed chances to rise up the npower League One table.

But he believes that mistakes made defensively in those games are correctable.
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