Kevin Phillips shared his confidence about West Bromwich Albion’s chances in the Championship play-offs ahead of them facing Aston Villa.
The retired forward seemed impressed that the Baggies had been able to keep the pace near the top of the Championship given that they parted company with Darren Moore.
“West Brom have been there or there abouts all season and they had to contend with losing Darren Moore which was quite a remarkable decision by the club,” said Phillips on Sky Sports’ The Debate (22:53, Friday May 10th).
Phillips was then asked to talk about West Brom’s semi-final clash with Aston Villa in detail and was quick to warn Villa about the Baggies’ having an advantage by the second-leg being at the Hawthorns.
“Let’s not forget about West Brom here, they’ve been there or there abouts all season, so there’s a good team, there’s a reason they finished third and it’s because they’re the third best team in the league,” added the former Baggies forward (22:55, Friday May 10th).
“So it’s going to be a difficult game and the advantage for West Brom is the second-leg at home and I remember when we played Wolves in the second-leg at home, it’s a massive advantage to be in front of your supporters if they can get a half decent result tomorrow.”
Phillips was then directly asked which team he thought would go directly up through the play-offs and after some deliberation shared his pick was the Baggies.
“I’d love to see one of the midlands club go up, it’s so difficult to choose.. I’m gonna go..gonna go… West Brom,” the retired attacker stated.
OPINION
Phillips kept sitting on the fence when it came to picking a winner in the play-offs before caving and sharing who he thought was going up. It’s no surprise that the retired forward has gone for one of his former sides in the form of the Baggies as that’s understandable. However while Phillips may be a bit bias in his verdict on West Brom, as well as being wrong to say they finished third when they were fourth, he is right to suggest that people should write the team off at their peril. When you consider the Baggies’ attacking power, it’s easy to imagine them being able to steamroll the play-offs. Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez have scored a staggering 55 league goals between them and could easily tear any side apart in the play-offs in the Championship apart if given just a sniff of an opportunity. If the Baggies are able to be a little bit stronger at the back in their play-offs games, then it’s easy to imagine Phillips being proven right to pick them.