Winger targets strong end to the season
MATT Phillips was delighted to return to the Baggies’ starting XI following a six-week spell on the sidelines.
Albion’s No.10 suffered a hamstring injury in training following the 2-2 draw at West Ham United in mid-February – a problem which kept him out of the next five Premier League games.
The winger also had to withdraw from the Scotland squad for their World Cup qualifier with Slovenia and friendly against Canada in March.
Phillips, who has clocked up eight Premier League assists and also scored five times in what has been an impressive first season at The Hawthorns, completed the second-half of Albion’s 2-0 defeat at Watford last Tuesday before starting against Southampton on Saturday.
And the Baggies man is aiming for a successful end to the 2016/17 campaign.
He said: “On a personal level it was great for me to be back out on the pitch playing again.
“It’s been five or six weeks since I have played so it was important to get through an hour or so against Southampton.
“It was good to be able to complete 60 minutes but it was obviously a disappointing result on Saturday.
“I had 45 minutes against Watford last week too so it was important to build on that in the Southampton game.
“There were a couple of setbacks along the way but hopefully I can kick on.
“There’s plenty of time to recover ahead of the Liverpool game on Sunday and I am hoping to have a good week in training and then push on.
“We’ve got six games left now and the boys are all so determined to make sure we get as many points on the board as possible.”