West Bromwich Albion Football Club News

• Nickname:The Baggies
• Founded:1878
• Manager:Roy Hodgson

• Ground:The Hawthorns
• Capacity:25,400

Baggies boss backs Phillips

09 May 2007 - 09:38:30

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West Bromwich Albion boss Tony Mowbray has backed in-form striker Kevin Phillips to help fire the Baggies to promotion success.

The veteran marksman helped himself to a hat-trick in the 7-0 rout of Barnsley on the final day of the season, which earned Albion a play-off semi-final showdown with local rivals Wolves.

And Mowbray believes the 19-goal striker can continue his purple patch and score the goals to seal the Baggies' return to the top-flight.

"Kevin Phillips is someone you can hold up as a quality, professional footballer who works hard at his game," he told the Birmingham Mail.

"Perhaps that's born out of where his career started. He's worked and grafted hard to get where he has in life, there hasn't been a silver spoon syndrome about him.

"We are still reaping the benefits of that now because it was his work ethic which got him his goals at Sunderland and he continues to do that because it's engrained in his personality and character.

"The good thing about Kevin is that he gets all sort of goals, as we saw on Sunday.

"He's on 19 now - let's hope he gets over that 20 mark in the next three matches. I'm sure he will."