Latest Nottingham Forest news from NottinghamshireLive: West Ham’s Kalvin Phillips discusses his red card at the City Ground.
Kalvin Phillips, a beleaguered midfielder, feels his red card at Nottingham Forest ends a run of bad luck and has determined to restart his West Ham career.
The 28-year-old has had a disastrous start to life at the London Stadium following his January loan move from Manchester City, where his career stopped after a 2022 transfer from Leeds.
After being held accountable for goals conceded against Bournemouth and Manchester United, he was sent off in the Hammers’ 2-0 loss at the City Ground after receiving two yellow cards in two minutes and 56 seconds.
Phillips desperately wanted his move to be a “fresh start” and wants to make things right.
“They say bad luck comes in threes, so let’s hope I’ve had my three pieces of it and I can kick on now,” he went on to say.
“I wanted this to be a new beginning, to really put my head down and go for it. It has not gone as I had hoped. Everyone can see it.
“But I know football. I’m seasoned enough to know that if I put my head down, grit my teeth, and perform the basics correctly, things will turn.
“It’s easy to say, but I need to do it.
“There are some things you must do on the football pitch. OK, I was training with the world’s top team, but games make you sharper.
“You may train all you want, but you’ll never really get match fit and match sharp unless you play games, right?
“So, that’s the reason I’m frustrated and gutted.”
West Ham were losing to Taiwo Awoniyi’s first-half goal when Phillips received two quick bookings in the second half, first for fighting with Nicolas Dominguez and then for fouling Morgan Gibbs-White.
He attempted to meet with referee Thomas Bramall following the game, but left the City Ground unhappy.
“I’m unhappy with myself for the first booking. He’s got my shoulder, and I’ve attempted to push him away; perhaps next time I might kick the ball at him to make my point,” he said.
“I was frustrated because we were losing. But it’s something I can learn from.
“With the second, I have not made touch with Morgan (Gibbs-White). He jumped up, which is understandable, but to be honest, I made no touch.
“I waited outside the referee’s chamber to speak with him.
“I wanted to say something, but it’s been half an hour and he hasn’t come out. I’m not sure if he knows I was there or not. I didn’t want to hit him. I just wanted to talk to him about it.
“But it looks like I’m going home now without saying my piece and I’m just disappointed – more so because I’m working hard to get myself back into a position where I can help and now I’ve got to miss a game.”
