Man City boss Pep Guardiola has responded to what Kalvin Phillips said about him after he joined West Ham.
Kalvin Phillips has seriously struggled since joining West Ham from Manchester City on loan.
That is perhaps not overly surprising given Phillips has spent the last 18 months in the cold at Man City.
The midfielder signed on loan from the champions last month but has twice given the ball away leading to goals.
And Phillips was then sent off in West Ham’s latest defeat to Forest at the weekend.
There were mitigating circumstances in all three incidents. A ridiculous pass from Kurt Zouma for the first, poor defending after the second and questionable officiating for the third.
Another, according to Phillips himself, is a lack of confidence following infamous comments publicly aimed at him by Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola when he accused the midfielder of returning from the World Cup “overweight”.
“After the World Cup was probably the toughest [period], when Pep came out and said I was overweight… He was right to do so but there are different ways to go about it,” Phillips said recently.
“I did not disagree with him but obviously I took a big knock on my confidence and how I felt at City. And my family were not happy about it, either. Especially my mum.”
Now Man City boss Guardiola has responded to what Phillips said about him after joining West Ham.
Phillips’ claim that Guardiola dealt with the incident the wrong way was put to the Man City boss in his latest press conference.
The Spaniard has apologised. But he was also keen to point out it was a rare blemish on his man-management record.
“I’m sorry,” said Guardiola, as reported by BBC Sport.
“I do apologise to him. I’m so sorry.
“Once in eight years is not bad. But I’m so sorry. I apologise to him. I do apologise. I’m sorry.”
Phillips’ West Ham misery continues next week as he will now miss the crucial clash with Brentford.
Some Hammers fans have criticised David Moyes for signing Phillips.
Many feel a central midfielder was the last thing West Ham needed in January.
And the Scot has now given himself an unnecessary selection headache.
Some supporters also feel Phillips is restricting the performances of Edson Alvarez – who had arguably been the club’s best player this season until his arrival.
A journalist close to Moyes has claimed West Ham have already made a big decision on signing Phillips permanently in the summer.
And technical director Tim Steidten has recently revealed what he thinks about the signing of Phillips.
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