The youthful defender, who signed for the Premier League team in the summer after leaving East Lancashire, is now on loan from Tottenham.
At Rovers, Phillips had an incredible career as he made his Under-21 debut at the age of sixteen and advanced to the first team photo in less than a year.
Last season, he made 14 appearances in all competitions, including eight in the league, as the team just missed out on a play-off berth.
I am quite excited about that,” the imposing centre back remarked. I’ve been a member of that club since I was 12 or 13. The club has greatly aided in my player development thus far.
Seeing some old friends and the coaching staff who really helped me grow as a player and get that move to Tottenham Hotspur when I was younger will be really beneficial.
Although it will be wonderful to see them, we have a big game coming up, so as a Plymouth Argyle player, my entire attention will be on ensuring we win three points.
Since joining the Pilgrims in January, Phillips has played in 12 games for Ian Foster, the former manager of the England Under-20 team.
It’s a big game,” he continued. We are in comparable situations, and three points may be very beneficial to us in our battle to hold onto the Championship, which we are confident we can do.
“We’re still optimistic. We are taking each game as it comes and have ten big games left with 30 points to play for.
“We are approaching every game with the same mindset and we have to compete to win the three points more than ever.” We are confident that as a team we can do that.
Although the young player is eager to perhaps face his former teammate, he is aware of Sam Szmodics’ deadly nature.
Playing against him is something I am looking forward to,” Phillips said. He has always have the skill to be an excellent player.
“I think I can utilise my familiarity with him to my advantage and perhaps prevent him from scoring. My back-up partnership with Lewis Gibson and Brendan Galloway is unmatched.
“They are two excellent defenders, and I believe that we support ourselves against any onslaught, even from the league’s best clubs. It is quite simple to establish a rapport with them. From the moment we played our first game together, we clicked.
I believe that we complement one another quite nicely. Gibson is a leader there and he really comes through for me throughout the game. He keeps in touch with me, informs me, and places me in the appropriate situation.
Brendan has been playing pretty well lately. He is an excellent player who has competed at the greatest level in games, and I have learned a lot from both of them. I can apply the knowledge I gain from them to my own work.
It is never easy to give up a goal, but when you maintain a clean sheet, as we did against Swansea, you have to fight until the very end and defend with everything you have. It’s an incredible feeling to have a clean sheet.
