Source: FOOTYMAD
The Forgotten Man: 'I'm doing everything I can to stop it happening again'
Injury ravaged Mark Phillips is sure Southend United can be successul next season, and the former Millwall & Brentford defender is willing to fight all the way to get back in the side. Phillips: 'Last year was just so frustrating' Many felt centre back Mark Phillips was fortunate that he grabbed a two-year contract last season as he ended up playing just a handful of games as injuries took their toll, and may have felt the axe fall like some of his colleagues if Blues boss Paul Sturrock had just handed him a single year. However, the former Brentford and Millwall man has been working hard and determined not to fall foul of similar problems next time around. Phillips told www.echo-news.co.uk: “I’m back in at Boots and Laces now making myself stronger for next season. Last year was just so frustrating for me and I’m doing everything I can to stop it happening again. I want to become a key part of the side next year because I think we can do well and I’m doing strengthening exercises pretty much all day every day right now to make sure I’m fully fit for the start of pre-season training in July.” The main problem was a run of painful groin injuries as well as surgery on a continuious hernia problem, but he is still working hard on his rehabilitation. Phillips continued: “I’m having to retrain my body and do plenty of corrective work. I’m having to repeat the same exercises all the time but it has to be done because I need to be playing pain free. That hasn’t happened for quite some time and for a while I was playing through the pain. But when I came to Southend I just couldn’t do it anymore because the pain was too much and it forced me to break down.” Phillips though remains upbeat and is certain the Shrimpers will be pushing for promotion during 2011/12 where he will have plenty of competition with Bilel Mohnsi and Chris Barker the probable starting defensive partnership with Luke Prosser and Graham Coughlan as the back-up. He concluded: “I think we should be confident about our chances because a lot of progress was made in a short period of time last year. The team did well once it started to gel and we want to take that in to next season now.” Let's hope so Mark. The Phillips Files Personal information Full name Mark Ian Phillips Date of birth 27 January 1982 (1982-01-27) (age 29) Place of birth Lambeth, England Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Playing position Defender Club information Current club Southend United Number 15 Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 2001–2008 Millwall 67 (1) 2007 → Darlington (loan) 8 (0) 2008–2010 Brentford 55 (1) 2010– Southend United 5 (0) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:10, 8 May 2010 (UTC).† Appearances (Goals). (Player info supplied by Wikipedia, for the full info go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Phillips_(footballer)
