Ashley Phillips has Stoke City running through him enough to not only subconsciously drop an “every step along the way” into an answer when he was interviewed by the local media – but to then realise he had done it and smile.
The 20-year-old centre-half will play his 72nd game for the club on Wednesday night at home against Oxford United, having been borrowed for a second season from Tottenham Hotspur.
That is more appearances on loan than anyone else in Stoke’s long history – some 5,765 minutes – and he admits he forgets sometimes that he is a loan player. Indeed, he doesn’t act like a loan player, in or out of action, and he has a brilliant relationship with supporters.
It is no surprise that, in an ideal world, he would like to be back again next term.
“I’d love to,” he said. “It’s a fantastic club but we’ve got to see how the season finishes and then go from there for next year.”
That’s not quite a contract and there are loads of factors that would influence what happens in the summer, not least that he is under contract at Spurs until 2028 – but he is clearly happy as a Potter.
He said: “I love being here, it’s a fantastic club. I’m very thankful for how they’ve developed me as a player. I feel like I owe everything to Stoke and that’s why I’ve been so keen to achieve great things this season, which I’m still positive about.
“I forget sometimes I’m a loan player too. It feels like I’ve been here forever to be fair. It’s a great club. The fans are great, the staff are great. I’m loving my time here.”
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There has been enough drama back in North London to probably mean Phillips’s future isn’t quite the main topic for discussion down there at the moment – but loan manager Andy Scoulding does keep in regular touch.
“He’s very happy with how things are going,” said Phillips. “He keeps in contact pretty much every week, asking about the game, how it’s gone. They’re making sure I’m on the right path.”
Phillips passed his century of career appearances last month having previously made 20 on loan at Plymouth and 11 at first club Blackburn.
He admits he feels like a different footballer now than the one who first arrived at Clayton Wood a year-and-a-half ago.
“I’ve improved so much and I’m thankful to all the staff here and all the players here,” he said. “I’m very happy with my development but I know I can push on even more. I have to keep kicking on.
“For a centre-back it’s all about experience. You learn from each game you play. I’ve made just over 100 appearances now at the age of 20, which is a great start and it’s one of the goals I’ve set when I was very young. I need to keep playing those games and keep learning.”
One of the big boxes still to tick is at the other end of the pitch and chipping in with goals from set pieces.
Phillips is yet to score in the league for Stoke and he doesn’t even just want to be a centre-back who chips in with one or two here and there. The pressure is probably cranked up a little now as captain and pal Ben Wilmot grabbed a brace last weekend against Leicester.
He said: “I’ve been getting on the end of quite a few things to be fair and it can be frustrating, especially at the weekend when I hit the crossbar. I just have to keep it down a little bit. It’s a positive that I’m getting a lot of first contacts but I need to hit the back of the net eventually.
“You look at the best centre-backs like John Terry and he probably scored 10-plus in a season. You’re looking at players like that and it’s definitely one of my goals. Hopefully I can get a couple before the end of the season.
“It’s one of the things (Stoke coach) Ryan Shawcross boasts about to me. I think he scored near 10 in his first season here. I definitely ask him for advice and he gives it to me, it’s just about putting it into play.”
Shawcross, now a first team coach at Stoke, is one of the few players ever to be punished with a penalty for the kind of grappling at set pieces that has taken hold, no pun intended, in the Premier League and Championship this season.
Mike Dean gave Manchester City a spot kick when Shawcross had his hands on Nicolas Otamendi back in August 2016. "I'm sure Dean invented a rule on the spot," Shawcross later reflected as he rattled through the best and worst referees he'd played under.
Plenty of dead balls are stopped these days while referees try to get a handle on pushing and pulling and mastering all that will be important for Phillips in both boxes.
He said: “There’s definitely been a lot more contact in the box this season. It’s all about movement and you need double movement, sending him one way and going the other. You’ve got to dictate to the defender, not let him dictate you. Then it’s about the timing of the cross and the balance of that – making sure you can escape your man and get your timing right.”
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That’s just one of the areas that Phillips is trying to improve.
He is sure that he and his teammates’ development will be aided by the facilities on offer in a new training building they moved into last week.
“It’s absolutely amazing, probably one of the best in the Champ,” he said. “We know we’ve got the facilities and it shows we’ve got the backing of the people higher up. It’s a great place to be around.
“There’s no excuses. We call it the one per cent-ers. We’ve got the twin pool, your hydro, your cryo and you can recover. I think from a mental point of view it’s boosted us as a team and we’re a happy around the building. It’s a fantastic building and hopefully it can help us kick on.”
Starting with this Oxford game live on TV.
“They’ve picked up some great results against some top teams so it’s going to be a tough match,” said Phillips, “but there’s no doubt if we execute our game plan we should get the three points.”
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