Grady Diangana has described Matty Phillips’ role in Albion’s team as “crucial” and revealed the club’s No.10 is someone who inspires him.
Phillips, who is now into his eighth season at The Hawthorns, helped the Baggies to three important Sky Bet Championship points on Saturday by scoring the second goal in a 3-1 victory over Hull City, an effort which was perfectly teed up by Diangana.
Matty has covered a wide range of positions in the XI so far this term, including left-wing back, right-wing and centre forward, coping with the different physical and tactical demands of each in a confident and assured manner.
And Grady says he’s delighted to see Phillips thriving right now, insisting he’s a man who leads by example both on and off the pitch.
Diangana said: “I think Matty has been amazing. It’s really amazing to see a player who is so versatile and is willing to do both the defensive work and the attacking work.
“He’s a big team player and he’s contributing massively to the success we’ve had over the recent period.
“He plays a huge role in this team. He’s a crucial part of the team, both on the pitch and off the pitch.
“You can see how hard he works every single day. He’s always in first and he’s always the last one out of the building. He’s always going the extra mile to make sure his body is at the best level possible to perform.
“He’s also a big leader in our team. Maybe not from the point of shouting and being loud, but more a case of being up and down the pitch, sparking the press off and leading by example.
“He’s a brilliant player to have in our team.
“He’s someone that I look up to because he’s always working hard. Regardless of the results on the pitch, he always has the same drive to do well and perform at his maximum level.
“When you work as hard as he does, good things are bound to happen. We’re seeing evidence of that at the moment with the goals he’s scoring and the performances he’s been delivering.
“I was delighted to see him score on Saturday and it was great to see his goal set us on our way to another three points.”
