CITY SPECIAL: Kalvin's still at the start of Blues career

ALMOST 12 months ago, Kalvin Phillips stood in a Houston hotel ballroom for two hours of interviews. "With Leeds it was one camera, ten minutes interview and I'd be off," he said.

- JOE BRAY

After signing for City, Phillips immediately noticed the scale of things at his new club - starting with the media interest - and also made a telling comment about the scale of the task ahead to simply play games for his new club.

"At Leeds I was always the guy that needed to play every game, City isn't the case. There are some amazing players," Phillips continued. "I need to get my head around that and push myself to be in that bracket where I need to be playing and want to be playing.

"Obviously the standard of football as well is unbelievable so I know I'll have to be at the very top of my game to get any minutes and get a start. I know there will be times I'm pulling my hair out because it's so difficult but that's what I wanted, that's my decision. That's why I came here and what I wanted to do."

A year on, as Phillips prepares to return to pre-season training for his second campaign in sky blue, little has changed from that first day of media interviews in Texas last summer.

Phillips only played 21 times for City in his first season, which was hampered by injuries in the autumn, and then by falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola after the World Cup.