Manchester City and England midfielder Kalvin Phillips, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about his injury problems and settling in at City last season:
“I spoke to quite a few of the lads there about their first season at City and how difficult they found it.
“They said it takes at least 12 months for somebody to really understand what the manager wants you to do and how he wants you to work.
“The first season is always difficult but hopefully next season will be a little better for me. I’m looking forward to getting my head down.”
On City boss Pep Guardiola saying Phillips returned ‘overweight’ from the World Cup in December: “It was probably a little hard to take because of how many people were talking about it.
“The manager made his comments and I respected them. For me, I wasn’t overweight, but the manager has seen it very differently.
“I did my best to try to get as fit as possible and I was on the bench for the Leeds game straight after that and I was fit every game since.
“There was just a misunderstanding between me and some staff members.”
