2:34pm Thursday 18th March 2010
By Toby Robinson
STEVE Phillips has set his sights on helping Crewe win promotion next season.
With realistic hopes of making the play-offs now over, attention is already starting to turn to the future.
And the 32-year-old is convinced a bright one lies ahead.
Hoping to seal a permanent move here this summer, Phillips believes Alex have the nucleus to make big strides in 2010/11 Whilst going back to basics under Dario Gradi has drawn some criticism, there’s reason to believe a couple of additions will make all the difference to this current crop.
Revolutionary deals to retain emerging talents including Max Clayton add to a belief that better times lie ahead.
Phillips was full of praise.
“The club needs to rely on the youth coming through,” he explained.
“Money in football nowadays is a struggle and I think this club is set up brilliantly for its future.
“They’ve got it spot on in my opinion.
“We’ve definitely got the attacking players to cause teams problems, especially in this division.
“Defensively we’ve got a lot of things to work on and basically that’s what’s stopped us being in and around the top 10 this season.”
A shoulder operation scheduled for the summer shouldn’t hinder his chances of settling down in South Cheshire.
“I’d love to stay,” he added.
“Let’s see what happens with me, that’s the main thing.
“The club need to see what the surgeon says after the operation, they’re not going to offer me a two-year deal if I’m out for six months.
“I want to be part of this team that can play for something every game and not just be around the middle or bottom of this division.
“If we can get it sorted defensively, I think we can be a force next season.”
Meanwhile Gradi isn’t thinking past Saturday’s visitors Notts County.
Clayton Donaldson and Shaun Miller are likely to get the nod upfront after saving the day at Torquay.
“I thought it was the best we’ve seen them play together,” he explained.
“For the goal, Shaun showed something different.
“If he can add that awareness to his game, he can be a real threat.
“I’ve said it for a number of years but we can always run out of time.
“Maynard, Varney, they all needed time and you can go as far back as Gary Blissett and Dele (Adebola).
“It was frustrating that they would show it in training but not carry it in to games.
“But eventually they all did.”
Gradi said chants against his decision to replace sub Calvin Zola were no real surprise.
“A lot were chanting that I didn’t know what I was doing,” he continued.
“They’re entitled to do that but I would say that in the end events proved them wrong.
“It doesn’t annoy me and it doesn’t surprise me.
“I think that’s how people are these days.
“People aren’t so nice to each other anyway these days in any walk of life.
“Football in particular, people seem to want to go to matches to vent their anger and shout at something.
“If Stoke fans can have a go at Tony Pulis and England can sack Alf Ramsey, I guess it doesn’t matter much what they do to me.”
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