Kalvin Phillips faces the music after being denied chat with ref after red card
Kalvin Phillips hasn’t ducked a challenge in his life. And he isn’t about to start changing the habit of a lifetime.
The England midfielder cut a dejected figure as he loitered around outside the referees’ room at the City Ground, hoping to catch a word with referee Thomas Bramall. In the end, he gave up. Which he says, isn’t an option at his new club.
Ninety-nine per cent of players could have ducked the media after being sent-off. To his credit, Phillips is different. And when he says he’ll get it right for David Moyes and West Ham, you want to believe it.
Gifting a goal to Bournemouth in his first outing, dispossessed at Old Trafford in the build-up to Alejandro Garnacho’s third goal - and two bookings inside three minutes at the City Ground. He spoke with a wry smile on his face, opening with: ‘They say bad luck comes in threes, so let’s hope I’ve had mine - and I can kick on now.”
Asked what he hoped to achieve by speaking to the match official, he added: “I wanted to have a word but it’s been half an hour now and he’s not come out. I don’t know if he knows I was there or not. I didn’t want to batter him. I just wanted to have a conversation with him.
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“But it looks like I’m going home now without saying my piece and I’m just disappointed - more so because I’m working hard to get myself back into a position where I can help and now I’ve got to miss a game. I’m annoyed with myself over the first booking.
"He’s (Nicolas Dominguez) has got my shoulder and I’ve tried to push him off - perhaps next time I should kick the ball at him to make my point. I was frustrated and we were losing. But it’s something I’ll learn from.
“With the second, I’ve not made any contact with Morgan. He’s jumped up and that’s fair enough but - honestly - I didn’t make any contact.”
Phillips was sent off in the defeat against Nottingham Forest (776003991/REX/Shutterstock)Phillips may be better placed having a word with Moyes. He looked on the fringes at the City Ground, not given licence to protect a back four that needs it.
The Hammers’ boss ran the gauntlet from disgruntled visiting punters but he came out with a line that does resonate. He said: “It’s hard to please everybody. Maybe they want something different, I don’t know. Maybe there will be managers who excite them more but the one sitting here wins more.”
And Phillips will be right in his corner. He said: “I’ll be at it at the next game. It’s not fitness. Having said that, I’ve got a few days training now and I’m going to be working as hard as possible.
“There are things you need to do on a football pitch. Okay, I was training with the best team in the world, but games get you sharper. You can train all you like but you are never going to get match fit and match sharp unless you play games, do you?
“So, that’s the reason I’m frustrated and gutted. I wanted this to be a fresh start, to get my head down and go for it. It’s not gone as I would have hoped. Everyone can see that.
“But I know football. I’m experienced enough to know that if I get my head down, grit my teeth and do the basics right that things will turn.
“It’s easy to say, but now I’ve got to do it.”
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