Michail Antonio has shared his thoughts on why Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has been struggling while on loan at West Ham United.
The Englishman joined the Hammers during the previous January transfer window and has since made nine appearances across the Premier League and Europa League, starting three of them.
After giving a penalty away during West Ham’s 4-3 defeat against Newcastle United last weekend, Phillips found himself getting criticism sent his way by some Hammers fans, although David Moyes defended him and urged the supporters to help him rather than condemn him.
Now though, one of West Ham’s key players has shared his thoughts on the City loanee and the current sticky patch he finds himself in.
Antonio weighs in on Phillips’ struggles at West Ham
Speaking in a recent episode of The Footballer’s Football Podcast, Antonio had this to say about Phillips and why he’s been struggling at the east London club.
He said: “It’s always confidence that’s exactly what it is, you don’t lose ability overnight. So it’s definitely confidence, it’s just been like the gaffer said the other day, he said we just need to put an arm around him and let him know we all believe in him and that’s what the main part of it is.
“When someone is down, it’s not the thing to kick him. You have to try your hardest to lift him and show you believe in him. Fans want you to just turn up and do the job and it just doesn’t work that way.
“We haven’t got a big squad, so he’s going to get another opportunity, he’s going to get another chance, so we need the fans to back him instead of getting at him because, for the next six weeks, he’s a West Ham player so try and build him so he can help us, rather than knock him down so he doesn’t.”
Phillips’ performances across the seven league games he’s appeared in for the Hammers have earned him a disappointing overall season rating of 5.82/10 from WhoScored, making him the lowest-rated player at the east London club.
While the midfielder’s loan spell at the London Stadium has not been particularly positive so far, we feel that Antonio and Moyes have the right attitude towards him and his situation in terms of helping him get on the right track.
Looking ahead to the remainder of the season, if Phillips can use whatever opportunities to play come his way over the coming weeks and end his loan at West Ham on a positive note, this could put him in a good place to pursue whatever the next step in his career may be.