Kalvin Phillips ‘will be fuming’ after axe for West Ham United v Man Utd – Roy Keane
Roy Keane believes Kalvin Phillips will be “fuming” after he was axed from the West Ham starting lineup for the game against Manchester United.
The England international signed for the Hammers on loan for the rest of the season in search of more regular first-team football in January, but was dropped to the bench by the boss after just one appearance – where his error led to a conceded goal.
And asked before the game while live on Sky Sports about the situation, former Manchester United captain Keane was adamant that the player wouldn’t be happy about the decision.
“From the player’s point of view, I think he’ll be fuming,” he said. “You go to get some games, he’s played 17 minutes, he’s a central midfielder and you use your intelligence there in terms of when to sprint and when to sit in.
“Obviously David Moyes will be worried about it in terms of getting an injury quickly but he needs to get minutes under his belt. He has to get games. Remember he’s on loan from City, and he’s going to Old Trafford and he’s on the bench.
“David Moyes is an experienced manager but from the player’s point of view, he’ll be fuming.”
West Ham fans can relax
It’s fair that most Hammers fans would have expected Phillips to be a regular in the team after his arrival, and most would have been delighted to see him come into the team at the expense of Tomas Soucek.
But it can’t be ignored that he has barely played over the last two years since leaving Leeds and joining Manchester City, so he can’t be rushed into playing several games in a week.
This was always going to be a game where West Ham weren’t going to have a lot of the ball, which is where his greatest strengths lie, and Moyes’ plan was clear that he wanted to soak up pressure and counter-attack.
With James Ward-Prowse and Soucek in the team there was a far greater set-piece threat to try and expose their weaknesses and Phillips was the obvious choice to miss out.
It might not be popular but there is logic to the decision and it feels like the world is overreacting a little bit with this as he needs to be eased into regular minutes before we see the best of him.
In other West Ham news, Karren Brady says ‘Poisonous’ Manchester City punishment on the cards after financial charges.
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