It’s Kalvin &
MOYES KEEN TO HELP PHILLIPS HAVE SHOT AT EUROS
DAVID MOYES is determined to “crack the code” and help Kalvin Phillips achieve his Euro 2024 dream before he returns to Manchester City at the end of the season.
The Hammers loanee was left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for friendlies against Brazil and Belgium after the Three Lions boss conceded his recent form “hasn’t been good enough”.
Moyes (below) said ahead of today’s visit of Aston Villa: “I’m speaking to him regularly because he is such a good boy to talk to as well.
“He wants to listen, he’s willing to give feedback and he wants to get better.
“There is no doubt he is going to come back to his best form and I hope we can crack the code before our time runs out, I really do.
“That’s the key because I said to him the other day, ‘You don’t get the England manager giving you 30-odd caps and you don’t get signed by the best manager in the world if there isn’t something there’.
“I have also been trying to sign him for three years. That might not mean anything but certainly with the other two, there has to be something that everybody has seen so we have to crack the code to get him back on it.”
Phillips, who came off the bench in the 86th minute of the 5-0 thrashing of Freiburg in midweek, has started three matches in eight appearances for the Irons. However, the move is yet to pay dividends for the 28-yearold following a forgettable debut against Bournemouth and a red card in the 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest. But Moyes remains confident Phillips’ perseverance and attitude will shine through despite his latest setback. The West Ham boss added: “He has to play and we need to keep building his confidence up. “I said about how do you keep improving and the simple format is probably just that you have to keep working that bit harder and hope something triggers for you and you get a lift. “He might score us a goal that gives us a boost or just something, he’s a good lad and he wants to get better. “I don’t really know if that’s a good enough answer to that magic code but I can see that someone will get the benefit from it because he’s certainly a top player and other people have judged him that way already.” Moyes fears Lucas Paqueta (left) could be touch-and-go for the meeting with Villa after feeling discomfort in his calves in midweek. When asked if he was concerned about the Brazilian’s fitness, he said: “A little bit, I’ve got to say, I was worried. “He was annoyed at coming off but he was sore on the outside of his calves and I was worried at half-time, saying, ‘Are we okay?’.”