Kevin Phillips: West Ham are finally finding their feet in the Championship

The goals are flooding in at the London Stadium and West Ham United have found form in the Championship at a critical time as they prepare to face Millwall in the fiercest of English derbies this weekend.

The Hammers have won four in a row in the league, with 16 goals scored across all competitions – six of them coming in their last game against Wrexham as they condemned the Welsh outfit to a mauling.

While West Ham’s dominance was expected this season with stars such as Manor Solomon, Taty Castellanos, Arne Engels and Konstantinos Mavropanos among Nuno Espírito Santo’s ranks – as well as the retention of club legend and England international Jarrod Bowen – they did not get off to the best of starts.

Former Sunderland and Southampton forward Kevin Phillips believes that was simply a case of needing time to adapt to life back in the second tier.

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Hammers finally finding their feet

In an exclusive interview with BestBettingSites, when asked what has suddenly clicked for West Ham, Phillips said: “I think it’s just finding your feet in the Championship.

“I’ve seen it so many times – teams come down from the Premier League and keep a lot of their players and think, ‘oh, it’ll be a breeze’.

“It’s not; it’s a tough, tough league and they’re there to be shot at. Everybody wants to beat West Ham, and we’ve seen that so far this season.

“For me, it was just a matter of time before it clicked. They’ve got good players; I think signing [Joël] Piroe from Leeds was a fantastic signing.

“That’s coupled with Bowen, Solomon, Castellanos – they’re all stepping up to the plate and performing now.

“As I said earlier, they’re top players, and if they gel, they’ll get it right, and we’re seeing that at the minute.

“So no coincidence that West Ham are doing what they’re doing at the minute.”

Wrexham’s challenge

West Ham’s emphatic victory over Wrexham highlighted the contrasting starts made by the two sides, although Phillips believes there is still plenty of time for Phil Parkinson’s side to turn things around.

“A bit of both,” Phillips replied when asked whether he thinks the Red Dragons are pushing for the play-offs or just survival this season.

“Of course, staying in the league is the biggest thing. And they came close last year [to making the play-offs].

“Let’s not forget, they’re having a tough time; they’re only seven games in, so I don’t think it’s something to get too worried about.

“The games come so thick and fast in the Championship that you get Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, you get three wins in a week, and you’re on the edge of the play-offs.

“So that’s how they’ll be looking at it.

“But of course, the quicker they can get points on the board, the better.”

Heckingbottom’s exit

Phillips also reflected on Preston North End’s decision to sack Paul Heckingbottom after their difficult start to the campaign, with last weekend’s defeat by newly promoted Lincoln City proving the final blow.

“I think losing to Lincoln, a newly promoted team, that’s probably the final nail in the coffin,” he explained.

“The start to the season hasn’t been what Hecky would have been looking for, and he probably knows that if he didn’t turn it around, something was going to happen.

“Unfortunately, he’s the first one to go, which isn’t nice; it’s never nice to see a manager go, but he’ll understand the business.

“PNE have always been that team that has a good start and then finishes mid-table. They haven’t had a good start this season, and he’s paid the price.

“So it’s a shame to see, but it’s an opportunity for someone else to go in now and try and lift the club.”

Read the full exclusive interview at BestBettingSites HERE

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