Derbies brought out best in Kevin Phillips

Oct 24 2008 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

Kevin Phillips etched his name into Sunderland folklore with his exploits in the derby games. He tells Mark Douglas how the tussles were among the highlights of his career

IF Sunderland Football Club were to strike a medal to reward outstanding service in derby games, Kevin Phillips would be in line for the equivalent of a Victoria Cross.

Two famous wins, four goals and inspiring one terrific, stirring fightback: few have done more to disrupt Newcastle United’s dominance of the fixture in modern times than Phillips – the arch assassin who dovetailed so wonderfully with Niall Quinn during his six decorated years of service.

A solitary defeat, inevitably at the Stadium of Light in his sixth and final meeting with United, was the only blemish of a record that includes some of Sunderland’s most memorable derby moments of the modern era.

For Phillips, who holds Sunderland in such high regard that he would consider returning to the Stadium of Light with current club Birmingham City next season as the perfect way to end his playing days, the games are among the highlights of his career.

For a forward who has scored goals in regional skirmishes across the country and donned an England shirt that is a serious commendation of the passion and frenzy of the Wear-Tyne derby. “The North East derby is up there with Rangers and Celtic in terms of the atmosphere, the passion and the hatred. It means so much to the supporters – more than I knew before I signed for Sunderland,” he said.

“I think for our team, it was huge. We’d been a couple of years out of the Premier League so by the point we went to play them at St James’s Park, the anticipation was massive.

“People would mention it to me on the streets the summer after we’d gone up. Something about them just seemed to bring out the best in me. I just revelled in it – really enjoyed the atmosphere, the noise, the way our fans were up for it. I think the Stadium of Light games were the best, maddest atmospheres I’ve ever played in. The noise from the crowd – your own fans – was just unbelievable.”

Phillips was to play a big part in games at Stadium of the Light, but it was at St James’s Park where he made his biggest impact. In August 1999, Philips plundered the winner in an apocalyptic game often remembered for Ruud Gullit’s decision to drop Alan Shearer. “When the team sheets were pinned up we did get an immediate lift because Shearer wasn’t in their team. We knew there was stuff going on behind the scenes between Gullit and Shearer, and it gave us a lift to see his name wasn’t there,” he said.

“It was a crazy game. The rain made it difficult to play but for a striker that was great. We were doing well, we’d got in amongst them, and when I scored the goal and lobbed it over Tommy Wright – it was a magical feeling.

“You could hear a pin drop because our fans were all the way up in the back of the stand and it was a huge, cavernous place. But when I looked up I could see them going mad.” Six months later, he was to play an even more influential part, netting twice to salvage a draw after Newcastle had pulled two goals ahead after 20 minutes.

It was particularly sweet for Phillips, who had listened with interest to comments from Newcastle defender Nikos Dabizas before the game which claimed he and Quinn were predictable.

“You say things like that and it comes back to haunt you,” Phillips said. “After winning at St James’s Park earlier in the season I think they’d felt a bit humiliated. We got off to the worst possible start conceding the two goals but the crowd didn’t get on our back and I think we all felt that with their support we could turn round anything.

“It was important that we got the goal before half-time. The minutes ticked by but I just knew if either me or Quinny got a chance we’d put it away.

“When it came I think most of their defenders just assumed I was off-side from Quinny’s flick on but the linesman didn’t flag and I tucked it away. It wasn’t the best finish but it just looped in. The roar was just unbelievable. When I ran into the corner to celebrate with the fans after getting the goal, it was the best atmosphere I’ve ever experienced in my entire career.

“All I could smell from the stands was alcohol – I nearly got drunk off the fumes!” Playing alongside Quinn, Philips enjoyed a career-defining spell, scoring 115 goals in 208 games and silencing critics who said he would not be able to handle the quicker pace of the Premier League. Phillips believes much of that must be put down to his striking colleague.

“He was the best striker I’ve every played alongside. He just knew instinctively where to put the ball and I knew instinctively where to go,” he said. “There wasn’t too many little and large partnerships in the Premier League at that time and I think we were just a little bit different.” Tomorrow Quinn will watch from the boardroom, far removed from the active service of his playing hey-day, and Phillips admits it is a surprise to see his former team-mate treading the corridors of power.

“I didn’t see that one coming. I always felt he would go into management and coaching,” he said. “It really surprised me that he moved upstairs but it speaks volumes for his character and what kind of a person he is. To get a consortium together and transform what is, let’s be honest, not a fashionable club is incredible. To have those people buying into his vision, well it’s just tremendous of Niall. He was always a clever man and when he talked in the dressing room we all listened. But talking to a bunch of footballers is different from being in a boardroom.”

Perhaps, as Phillips wistfully admits, Sunderland could have done with some of that ambition during his time. After two seventh-place finishes, the opinion in the dressing room was the team were just two players short of another push for Europe, but no signings were made – and Sunderland paid the price.

For a striker who had risen to the England squad on the back of Sunderland’s excellent form under Peter Reid, it was difficult to watch the team’s slide. “I felt like we were on the brink of something big. We finished seventh two years running and it was a real shame that didn’t qualify for Europe,” he said. It was a real opportunity for the club – we were two or three players short of being a real force in that league but for whatever reason we didn’t take that next step.

“I’m delighted that the club has Quinny and Roy Keane there now and they’re really moving forward and showing some genuine ambition. The supporters deserve a club that is competitive in the Premier League, and I just hope it happens for them.”

Phillips – who is predicting a Sunderland win at the Stadium of Light – retains one wish as he edges closer to hanging up his boots after a long and distinguished career.

With his current club at the top of the Championship, and Phillips as prolific as at any time in his career, he is hoping for one last emotional trip to Wearside as the perfect way to sign off.

“At the moment I’m edging towards finishing my career the season after next so to play again at the Stadium of Light in my final game and say goodbye to those fantastic supporters would be a fitting way to finish things,” he said.