Phillips faces battle to be back in running for place at Euros

had the joint best defensive record in the league. We were so resilient.

“We had a feeling we weren’t going to concede and I think that has changed to a feeling we might concede. The only way to remedy that is to work and for the team collective to be the same aim.

“I think it is and we have some great professionals in that area of the team. I back us to come good but we are obviously going through a difficult period. It is a collective thing but we did make some individual errors, which has harmed us.”

Howe would never speak openly about a major squad overhaul as he looks to protect frail confidence in the squad he’s already got.

When talking about those at his disposal, he said: “There is no doubting the ability of the players we already have. You could see at Chelsea we’ve got some very good players. I was delighted by the two goals we scored. And some of our general play especially in the first half was very, very good. I thought we looked in a really good rhythm and looked confident. We killed ourselves with the goals we conceded. That can hurt you and dent confidence when you concede goals in the manner we did.”

On Monday, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher caused a bit of a stir by saying United were “ready” for the end of the season. And while the fighting spirit from Newcastle suggests that might not be the case, Howe will be eager to take a close look at things in preseason as well as add new blood.

At the moment that feels like the best remedy at Benton. But there’s also still a job to be done in the last 10 Premier League games and the FA Cup at Man City.

GARETH Southgate has admitted that Kalvin Phillips’ form has “just not been good enough” after the former Newcastle United target was left out of the England squad.

Newcastle were among those clubs interested in signing Phillips on loan from Manchester City in January and the midfielder mentioned the Magpies as a “possibility” when he spoke to Southgate about his future at the time. However, Eddie Howe confirmed that Newcastle ultimately had to “step away from that one due to financial reasons” in a window where it was “impossible” for the black-and-whites to recruit without letting someone go.

Phillips ended up joining longtime suitors West Ham on a temporary basis until the end of the season, but the move has not worked out so far.

Phillips has only started three games for the Hammers and the 28-year-old was sent off at Nottingham Forest, hooked at half-time against Burnley and made a costly error on his debut versus Bournemouth.

Southgate has certainly not ruled out the possibility of Phillips making the plane for Euro 2024, in June, but the midfielder faces a real battle to get back into contention after being dropped for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

“He knows exactly what we think of him,” Southgate told reporters. “We have shown that support. A good version of him is an important player for us and that’s why we have supported him as we have. We don’t have many players of that profile.

“Unfortunately, his form has just not been good enough. I have spoken to him about that. He understands.”