Killian Phillips says his full focus is on helping St Mirren achieve their goals in the second half of the season as he says his parent club are helping him improve from afar.
The on-loan midfielder from Premier League side Crystal Palace gets vital feed back from the London club after every game as it is not only Stephen Robinson’s eyes that are on him.
Phillips, who joined the Buddies in the summer after a hellish season at Aberdeen, says that the loan manager at Palace, Mark Bright, is in regular contact with him.
Alongside Mark, Phillips has strength and conditioning coach Nicky Davis and player development analyst Deondre Dewar, who are helping him improve, as well as the Saints’ talented bunch.
And Phillips has credited the Palace trio for being “on the ball” when it comes to helping him be at his best for the Saints.
“It’s good that they keep an eye on me and are in regular contact,” he said.
“You have the loan manager, Mark Bright, and Deandre. Also the strength and conditioning coach, Nicky Davis, who we work with a lot during the week.
“All three of them do all my work, really. Every week, they watch our footage and clips of the games. They give you feedback during the week and stuff like that. They’re on the ball with everything.
“They just talk about the game and stuff like that. Just more checking [how I am] on the field and all the way off the pitch too.”
Phillips’ last time out in Scotland with Aberdeen was a season to forget for the Irishman.
His six-month loan spell in Granite City saw him play a reduced number of minutes under Neil Warnock after Barry Robson was sacked days after he joined the club.
But reflecting on his time in the North East, the Buddies midfielder says that he has developed a lot since his Dons days.
He said: “[I have come on] leaps and bounds.
“It helps when you’re playing as well. The gaffer [Stephen Robinson] really put faith and trust in me. It’s easy, when you have people like that in the dressing room, to be able to show your ability.
“It had been a shocking season when I was at Aberdeen. But now I’ve put it behind me. I’m just looking forward to the future.
“I am 22 now, I was 21 when I was up there. It was just part of learning the game. It is part of football and it is what it is. Once it’s over, you just move on and try and get your mind right.”
And when asked if he sees turning out for Crystal Palace as his long-term goal, Phillips insisted he still has a lot to do in Paisley first.
He added: “I’m taking it day by day and I’m seeing what happens. I’m enjoying my football here. We have a big second half of the season, so I’m focusing on that before anything else that has to do with Palace.”
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