Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa has denied suggestions that there is a rift between himself and Kalvin Phillips.
Phillips was substituted at half time in the 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion which prompted pundits such as Jamie Redknapp to infer that something was not quite right between the pair.
Bielsa has played a major role in the extraordinary rise of Phillips’ career in recent years, but after a difficult start to the season, questions have been asked.
Much like the team as a whole, the 25-year-old hasn’t quite been able to bring his excellent form of last season into the new campaign.
Speaking in his pre-Crystal Palace press conference, Bielsa confirmed that Phillips is not injured and does not believe that there has been a major drop off in the levels of his performances so far this season.
He said: “With respect to Kalvin he's available for the game tomorrow. As I said in the declarations after the game against Brighton, Shackleton and Pascal coming on were all to do with improving how the team was playing.
“I don't like it to his individual performance, whether it was high or low. I'm referring to the players who came off: Kalvin and Junior. But it was to look for a more efficient collective organisation, different with different characteristics of the execution of the same function."
"I don't think he's at the lowest of his level. Of course, every game has its characteristics, its themes. There are times when the characteristics of the game and in the mind of the game, in this case my mind, to imagine a different option for the same function. But I don't see Kalvin with any substantial difference."
Bielsa was then able to reassure fans when pressed about the comments that the various pundits have made this week.
“Kalvin Phillips is an idol for the Leeds United fans, he's a popular property with a lot of affection and we all have the obligation to look after the feeling that unites a fan with a team," he added.
“The fans suffer when they lose an idol, Kalvin is a player that's done a lot of things for why the fans feel about him and what he has done has been sincere, it has not been conditioned. He opted to stay with Leeds when he could have left when we were in the Championship.
“He cleared up his position was when asked about moving to the best teams in the Premier League, saying sincerely he wouldn't accept any offers - so what I'm saying is with respect to his performance and his club Leeds, the position Kalvin occupies is completely deserved.
“Now what you're asking is resolved with a conclusion that's very simple. It's very difficult to imagine that a player can never be substituted from a team. The logic of football shows that perfectly in any game, any player can come off.
“And it can't be a coach’s condition that one player can't come off and then it's thought of something because finally the explanation I gave is the one I thought. I thought Pascal was better suited in the second half to the defensive midfield situation that I imagined, than Phillips.
“That doesn't mean I was correct, but I did what I thought was best. But in no way does that mean there's a difficulty with anyone. It's never good for a player or a team to think that the positions are immovable and that the hierarchies are within a team can't be altered ever because it's not only bad for the player who is untouchable but it's bad for those who want to alter the positions within a team. In this example that we chose, it's bad for Kalvin to think that he'd never be substituted like any other component of the team, to think that the initial hierarchies cannot be changed. The position of a team is that you compete with your opponents and the players in your team.”
Leeds take on Crystal Palace in an 8.15pm kick-off at Elland Road on Tuesday evening.
