Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips has admitted that he disagreed with Pep Guardiola's suggestion that he returned from last year's World Cup in Qatar "overweight".
Guardiola publicly criticised the former Leeds United ace following City's first game after the World Cup break last December, in which they beat Liverpool 3-2 in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at the Etihad Stadium. Phillips, who made just two substitute appearances for England in Qatar, was a surprise absentee from the matchday squad.
At the time, it was presumed that Phillips was absent through injury, particularly as fellow England stars John Stones, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden, who all featured more prominently at the World Cup, were involved. However, Guardiola revealed that he was not pleased with the state that Phillips had returned in, saying he was "overweight" and "not in the right condition to train".
Though the situation was soon resolved, Phillips has now given his side of the story, saying that he did not consider himself to be overweight. While he accepted and respected the City boss' comments, he felt the situation was blown out of all proportion.
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"To be honest, it was a little bit hard to take [the criticism], just because of how much it was oversized and how many people started talking about it," Phillips told BBC Radio 5 Live. "I know the manager made his comments and stuff like that but I respected them.
"I, for me, wasn't overweight, but obviously the manager saw it in a different way. I took it, did my best to try and get as fit as possible and I was on the bench for the Leeds game straight after that.
"I was fit for every game since then. It was just one of those things where it was a misunderstanding between me and some staff members. You will see a lot more of it in the documentary and how I got into it all."
Phillips, following his switch to the Etihad Stadium from Leeds last summer, experienced a difficult maiden season in City colours, making just 21 appearances in all competitions. He, despite not setting himself any specific targets, is hoping that the forthcoming campaign is more prosperous.
Asked if he sets himself targets, he added: "I used to do that when I was younger and I don't really do that now; I just know how difficult it is.
"At Leeds it was very different for me because I was playing every single game and I knew that no matter what I would probably be in the starting line-up. Now it has kind of changed, where I am not expecting to be in the team or expecting to start.
"But if I don't start I am going to push to try and get myself involved a lot more. Obviously I would love to play a lot more, be involved in the team a lot more and winning games, but I know how difficult it is and I hope this season is a lot better for me in that way."
