Leeds have made a bright start to the season, and there appears to be plenty of optimism around Elland Road.
Blackburn’s Hope Akpan and Leeds’ Kalvin Phillips in action
Kalvin Phillips has told BBC Radio Leeds that he needs to work on the defensive side of the game, before suggesting that it would be a dream come true to help Leeds United secure promotion to the Premier League.
Before the beginning of the campaign, supporters would have been forgiven for questioning what Phillips’ future looked like.
After bursting onto the scene under Neil Redfearn, the 20-year-old was used much less frequently under Uwe Rosler and then Steve Evans.
However, since Garry Monk’s arrival, Phillips has signed a new three-year deal (via club’s official website) and become a key man for the Whites as they have moved themselves into play-off contention during the first few months of the season.
Reading’s Danny Williams and Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips in action
But he explained that he still feels that he has plenty to work on in his own game.
“I think my defensive work,” he told BBC Radio Leeds when asked what area he hopes to make improvements in.
“I need to work on that a little bit more and just get my passes in, and getting on the ball a lot more in the game and take control.”
As mentioned, Monk’s men have made an incredibly encouraging start to the season. They currently sit seventh in the Championship and have an EFL Cup quarter-final tie against Liverpool on the horizon.
If they manage to get through the Christmas period still hovering around the top six, then it would be difficult to rule Leeds out of the promotion picture. And Phillips has explained just how great an achievement it would be if the Whites ended their exile from the top flight this season.
Leeds United manager Garry Monk
“It would be a dream come true obviously. When I was younger, the Leeds team was in the Premier League, you could see what it meant to the fans. Obviously, the last couple of years, it’s not really happened so if we could do it this year, then it would be a dream come true,” he added.
Though the second tier is often deemed to be one of the most unpredictable divisions, Leeds’ fortunes have followed a similar narrative over the last few years.
After an unspectacular start, they have gone into the Christmas period flirting with a relegation battle before putting their best run of the campaign together when their play-off hopes have already been dashed.
However, this season, the story has begun differently for Leeds. And Phillips will be hoping that they can capitalise on their promising start and go into the business end of the campaign still in with a chance of going up.
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