When Kalvin Phillips told Match of the Day in April that his performance off the bench against Leicester had been “a bit of a stinker,” he was being far too candid.
It felt premature to be flippant about the scare Manchester City had experienced, even though the former Leeds player was merely displaying the kind of honesty that Jack Grealish is praised for in his post-match comments. In a performance that made Pep Guardiola recognize he had fewer players in his roster on which he could rely than he believed, a comfortable home victory nearly turned into points dropped.
A few days later, Phillips clearly didn’t start the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinal in Munich, but he also wasn’t trusted to play in the FA Cup semifinal against Sheffield United of the Championship. His disappointing cameo in the game against the Foxes did more to hurt than to assist his hopes of receiving more playing time.
Phillips’ future at the club was uncertain heading into the summer, but he has since made it clear that he is committed to succeeding at the Etihad. This has quieted speculation about his future, and the midfielder can now focus throughout preseason and fulfil his aim.
The 27-year-old can avoid causing unneeded pain as he does interviews ahead of the premiere of his upcoming Amazon documentary. When he rejoined the team after the World Cup in December, he told the BBC he didn’t agree with Guardiola’s claim that he was overweight.
It should go without saying that the City manager’s tight guidelines for how fit players must be to train are supported by a wealth of medical evidence. Guardiola’s word has the most weight at the Etihad and isn’t worth disputing, even if that were all that was said.
When Phillips began to have complaints about being passed over for games following the World Cup last season, Cancelo was far more established in the City team than Phillips was at that time. Guardiola told his superiors that Cancelo had to leave and that was that; good-bye, Joao; there could only be one winner from that.
The English international needs to read the room before committing to anything, whether it be on or off the pitch, in order to grasp what it takes to succeed at City. Phillips is welcome to disagree with his boss, and his candour in interviews should be commended. If Phillips is to turn around his City career, he will need to speak and act in the proper ways.