Gareth Southgate fires Kalvin Phillips demand after England decision amid West Ham nightmare

England manager Gareth Southgate is hoping for a return to form fror Kalvin Phillips as he bids to battle for a place in his country's Euro 2024 squad. Southgate admitted that he had to leave out the struggling midfielder this month due to doubts about his performance.

Phillips has become an important part of the national team since earning his first cap against Denmark in September 2020. The Leeds-born player was crowned England's Player of the Year for 2020-21 after his impressive performances during the European Championship final.

However, since moving from Leeds to Manchester City in 2022, there has been increasing pressure on his position. After joining West Ham on loan in January, Phillips' poor start led to him being left out of Southgate's final squad before the Euros selection with games against Brazil and Belgium planned for Wembley

«There are times when you know your best players are your best players,» Southgate said. «Other people might doubt it but you're going with them because you know that you can get that level of performance from them.»

He added: «At the moment, I couldn't be confident on the performances Kalvin's had in the last few weeks that he could go onto the field and do the job we know that he's capable of.»

Southgate concluded by saying: «So, there's absolutely no reason why he can't find that form. Nothing would give us more pleasure than having a Kalvin that's back in the rhythm of playing and back to full confidence.»

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«We will be a better team, squad, whatever that might be, if that's the case, so