Exclusive: Phillips says 29y/o still has future at West Brom despite being dropped
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips believes that although Matt Phillips has lost his spot in the West Brom starting line-up, the winger still has a future at The Hawthorns.
Phillips, 29, has been a mainstay of West Brom’s attack since joining the club in 2016, appearing 131 times across all competitions and scoring 21 goals.
He had started all but three of Albion’s Championship fixtures before being dropped to the bench for the 2-0 win at Millwall in February and didn’t start in any of the six games after.
The Scotland international’s exclusion from Slaven Bilic’s starting line-up did coincide with an improvement in the club’s form and even though that has happened, Kevin Phillips still sees him being key for the Baggies if they win promotion.
“I’ve played with him and know him a little bit,” the ex-Baggies striker told West Brom News. “He’s developed into a really good player but the biggest thing for him is that all of a sudden, there’s competition in that squad. He’s unfortunate the players he’s competing with have come in and done very well and Slaven has decided to stick with those.
“I watched Matty in the FA Cup game against Newcastle and I thought he grew into the game. He looked like he hadn’t played for a while but towards the end, he was like his old self.
“He’s certainly a player you’d want to keep because he’s played in the Premier League before and he’s a handful.
“I would say he’s definitely got a future at West Brom unless someone comes in they’ve paid big money for, just like at Stoke when we brought Tom Ince in from Huddersfield. It’s a similar situation.”
Matt Phillips has scored eight goals and supplied five assists from the right-wing for West Brom this season.
Although he’s done well, you cannot put him in the same bracket as Matheus Pereira, who is a serious contender to win the Championship player of the year award.
Pereira’s played a lot as a central attacking midfielder but since Bilic tweaked his formation and line-up in February, the Brazilian has made the right-wing slot his own.
Phillips is a victim of Pereira’s success at the moment and like Super Kev says, the ex-QPR winger still has a role to play at The Hawthorns.
In other West Brom news, Ally Robertson is thrilled by the EFL’s most recent update.