David Moyes is determined to ‘crack the code’ and get Kalvin Phillips back to top form with West Ham.
Phillips has endured a difficult start to his loan spell in east London and was left out of Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad on Thursday.
But Moyes believes he can solve the puzzle and rediscover the player who Pep Guardiola spent £42million on to take to Manchester City 18 months ago.
‘There is no doubt he is going to come back to his form. I hope we can crack the code before our time runs out, I really do. That is the key.
David Moyes wants to help Kalvin Phillips rediscover the form that made his an England regular
Kalvin Phillips has struggled to find form since his loan switch from Man City in January
Gareth Southgate left Phillips out of the England squad for this month’s international friendlies
‘I said to him the other day you don’t get the England manager giving you 31 caps, you don’t get signed by the best manager in the world, there has to be something which everybody has seen.
‘We have to crack the code to get him back on it. He has to play, we need to keep building his confidence up, I can see that.
‘How do you ever improve? You have to work a bit harder and hope that something someday triggers for you, you get a lift. Score a goal and get a boost, or something.
Phillips has been a key man for England for the last two major tournaments under Southgate
‘He is a good lad and he wants to get better. I don’t really know if that is a good enough answer to the magic code but I can see that someone will get benefit from him because he’s certainly a top player and other people have judged him that way already.’
Phillips is likely to be among the substitutes again on Sunday when West Ham host fellow European hopefuls Aston Villa.
