Source: PA
McLeish: I could have used Phillips more often
Birmingham boss Alex McLeish admits he may have underused "genius in the box" Kevin Phillips this season.
Veteran Blues striker Phillips made the most of being handed his first league start of the campaign in Saturday's 2-1 victory over Bolton at St Andrew's by opening the scoring in the fourth minute after latching on to Sebastian Larsson's corner.
Phillips had also netted when Birmingham hosted Bolton in the FA Cup quarter-final three weeks earlier after being named in the first XI and he now has four goals in four starts in all competitions this term.
Asked about the former England frontman, McLeish said: "We did speak in January about more minutes for him and maybe I can look back and say `could I have used him more in the first half of the season?'
"We did it for the right reasons - maybe I could have. But he's a just a genius in the box. I've kept saying, even since the start of the season, that in terms of technique he is still the top forward at the club.
"You just wonder about the legs but he has shown that it wasn't a problem. He scored the goal, he brought people into play, he held the ball up and despite not being the biggest guy in the world, he annoys centre-halves and they never get free headers."
