Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
FLIPPIN’ HECK! IT’S TURNED AROUND FOR YOU, KALVIN
Heckingbottom, stand-in Blades boss, recalls a tough time for new England regular Phillips
KALVIN PHILLIPS’ career could not be better. He is an England regular, playing for his beloved Leeds in the Premier League, and adored by fans.
Paul Heckingbottom remembers a very different time, three years ago, when he was getting stick from supporters, frustrated at seeing another promotion bid fizzle out.
Heckingbottom was Phillips’ Leeds manager for four months and recalls how he advised him to ignore everyone, apart from him and his team-mates.
The Sheffield United caretaker boss will be reunited with Phillips, 25, today at Elland Road and says he told him to shut out the outside “noise”.
“At the time, the club was getting a bit of stick with results,” said Heckingbottom, who was replaced by Marcelo Bielsa in June 2018. “There was him and Ronaldo Vieira, two local boys, and generally local boys are spared from the stick off fans. But they started targeting them as well.
“It was probably the first time they’d experienced that, so it was about putting their focus back on what it should be – your team-mates and the manager.
“Listen to those people, those are the people you need to impress. The manager picks the team and you want the respect of your team-mates, so that’s all you need to focus on.
“You get support from friends and family, and everything else is just
background noise and gets in the way. They were able to do that. Ronaldo got a very good move to Sampdoria and Kalvin stayed and is now playing for England, so it’s great.”
Heckingbottom knew about Phillips when he was a kid at Leeds’ academy and is delighted by his success over the last 12 months. The former Barnsley boss said: “He was someone I’d always known and seen in youth teams.
“When I went in, I knew all about him. In terms of his progression and England... if you’re a coach, there’s nothing better than sitting back and watching someone you worked with achieving good things – and Kalvin is no different.
“In terms of England, I didn’t think that when he was in the Championship.
Generally, you’re thinking it’s the Premier League which is going to get you an England call-up. So for him to get that recognition, and be talked about when he was in the Championship, shows how good his form was.
“He’s there on merit and, if he does go to the Euros, then it’ll be down to his hard work.”
Heckingbottom, 43, played a role in Phillips’ development as a holding midfielder by establishing him in that role. He added: “He played a number of different roles at Leeds, but we used him as the deeper one, getting on the ball and really trying to dominate in the middle.
“He’s continued to do that and he’s a really big part of how they play.”