Kalvin Phillips has experienced a challenging few years, facing limited opportunities at Manchester City, criticism from Pep Guardiola for being “overweight,” exclusion from the national team, and further criticism during a short loan spell at West Ham. Discussing Phillips’ time at West Ham, McKenna provided some insight:
McKenna said, “Not massively. That was a pretty short period in a relatively long career. I don’t know the ins and outs of it. He’s with us now though. He’s happy here and we’re happy with him.”
Phillips has made a strong start at Ipswich Town, contributing to Premier League draws against Fulham, Brighton, and Aston Villa. He was notably moved by the standing ovation during his full league debut against Fulham in August, a point emphasized by McKenna:
McKenna said, “I think that’s massive for all our players. It’s been an incredible atmosphere in the stadium and the players are really feeling that support. All of the players who have signed over the last couple of years have noticed the positive environment both inside and outside the club. That’s a great environment for any player to play in. I spoke to all the players who came in this summer about how this will be a fantastic place to play football. I think Kalvin is feeling the benefit of that, as many players are.”
Phillips appears to be settling in well at Ipswich, as highlighted by McKenna’s comments on his development:
McKenna said, “Kalvin’s settling in well and enjoying it day-to-day here. I think he’s getting fitter and each performance he’s had for us has probably been a little bit stronger than the last. Of course it’s not always a perfect line, but we feel that he’s got a chance to work himself up to some really good form. Over the last few years we’ve generally played with closer to a double pivot, maybe one of those midfielders having a little bit more flexibility, but in our build-up play it’s generally two midfielders close together. Him and Samy (Morsy) have done that well in the last couple of games. That’s one of Kalvin’s big, big strengths. He’s really mobile and reads danger well.”
Furthermore, McKenna highlighted the strength of Ipswich’s midfield unit:
McKenna said, “Massimo (Luongo)’s been terrific at that over the last couple of years, Jens (Cajuste) did some really good against Southampton and Jack Taylor is going from strength to strength, so that midfield unit is in a good place.”
