Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips has revealed he was close to changing channel whilst watching the Whites face Manchester City on television.
An injury sustained during the draw with Brentford earlier this month has sidelined the 26-year-old and he was forced to watch his side be dismantled by the Pep Guardiola's men from home.
On a humbling evening for the Whites, goals from Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, John Stones, Nathan Ake and a brace from Kevin De Bruyne condemned them to a crushing 7-0 defeat.
Phillips told Sportsmail : "I was close to changing channel, I’m not going to lie, but I had to stick with them. I watched with my girlfriend and she keeps quiet if she sees me getting angry. But (Manchester) City can do that to any team.
"We’ve got a group chat and I told the lads afterwards that it’s one of those where it didn’t go great for us and we didn’t help ourselves, but also that we can’t dwell on it. We’ve got a good group. We are the type to focus on the next task."
The injury ends 2021 on a sour note for Phillips but it has been packed with momentous steps in his career.
After playing a starring role in Leeds' impressive 2020/21 campaign, he shone for England at Euro 2020 and etched his name into headlines with a series of excellent displays.
Recent outbreaks of Covid-19 have disrupted the Premier League and although Phillips has revealed he would prefer the season to continue, he has insisted he does not want to see a fixture pile-up in the latter stages of the season.
He said: "If we pause now I might be able to play more games.
"Also, all these postponements are messing up my fantasy team! It’s a difficult situation, though. I would prefer to carry on, because you don’t want fixtures building up at the end of the season."
Leeds currently sit precariously in 16th place, hovering five points above 18th-placed Burnley but having played three more games for the Clarets.
Phillips, however, believes Leeds will start picking up points and that the Whites have a 'very good chance' of avoiding a return to the Championship.
He said: "We weren’t the best team last year. We’re not the worst this year.
"We have a very good chance of staying up, once we correct a few things, like concentrating a little bit more at the end of a game. I think the points will start coming in."
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