Big Interview: Matt Phillips relaxing into his role at West Brom

He's a lot more at ease than he was at the start of the season, and no wonder,

Plenty of footballers – especially attacking players – rely on confidence to play well, but with Phillips, the anxiety runs a bit deeper.

"It's not that I think I'm not a good player," he says. "I just want to do well and it's the wanting to do well, the pressure comes from that.

"It all comes from me, no-one else is doing it, no-one else is telling me I have to do well.

"But in every training session I want to be the best out there. With every game I want people to be talking about me. That's my downfall."

It took Phillips a while to get his Albion career going. One assist and no goals in his first nine games was not a great return following his £5million summer switch from Queens Park Rangers.

But then Baggies boss Tony Pulis took him out of the limelight, dropped him for a 4-0 defeat against Manchester City, and he's been unstoppable ever since.

Five goals and seven assists in the past 13 games, as well as a whole host of man-of-the-match performances, have propelled Albion to eighth and cemented Phillips as one of the signings of the summer. Only Kevin De Bruyne has set up more goals in the top tier this season.

"A lot of people think 'Oh, he's a quiet lad' and I am a quiet lad, especially when I came here," revealed Phillips. "I've moved club three times now and you want to hit the ground running. You want to show everyone what you're about from the word go.

"I put too much pressure on myself to do these things. I had a conversation with the manager here, who has been great with me and we put that side of it to bed.

"After that I scored a goal against Leicester and I started to get a few assists and contribute to the team."

Every single one of his managers have said the same thing about him.

From Ian Holloway at Blackpool, to Harry Redknapp and Les Ferdinand at QPR, to Pulis, they have all urged him to believe in himself.

But it is Pulis who has been able to get the most out of him.

"It wasn't really what he said," admits Phillips. "It was giving me a little bit of time, putting an arm round me and telling me I am a good player. Sometimes you need that. Since then things have really happened for me."

Standing 6ft, Phillips is big, strong, two-footed, and has bags of pace. He's a daunting opponent for anybody.

This season he's learned to let go of the worries that crippled his talent in the final third.

"I go back to something Ian Holloway said to me," he says. "I never really understood it until towards the end of my time at QPR.

"He just said: 'Don't think, just do!' That's probably one of the hardest things I've found – when things aren't going right you over-think that pass or you over-think about 'should I shoot or not?'

"When something like that happened when I was younger, I would beat myself up for the next five minutes.

"Then within that five minutes you've made another couple of mistakes and suddenly you've had a bad game."

Now though, when Phillips has the ball at his feet, he feels free to express himself, free to run at defenders, free to try new things.

It may strike some as an odd facet in a Pulis team famed for discipline.

Phillips himself has been part of staunch rearguard defences this season, dropping in against the best sides to form a back six when necessary.

He obviously listens to those instructions, or he wouldn't be in the team, so does he have a switch in his head that he turns off when he's got the ball?

"When we lose the ball we get into our shape and then press from there," he replies. "But on the other hand when we win the ball back he wants us to get up the pitch as quick as possible and have a go at them.

"For a wideman there is nothing better than to hear a manager giving you the freedom to go and attack."

Although he's trying not to over-think when he's in possession, off the field, the 25-year-old is deliberating more and more about the game he plays. He knows the modern winger can't neglect his defensive duties.

"The game's changing, and the players have to as well," he says. "The manager starts you from a base and after that he gives you the freedom to go and express yourself.

"You can't go away to Chelsea and expect to have 80 per cent of the game. You've got to be able to do both and it's something the modern day footballer, I feel, has to have. It's hard work but it's what you've got to do."

Phillips is no stranger to hard work. There was no elite academy upbringing for him, he's forced his way up to the top table through sheer persistence. Born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, he spent his youth career at Wycombe Wanderers.

"Everyone was assigned jobs, you cleaned the gym or the canteen, so it was good," he says. "It also gave you a bond with a first-team player, if you were cleaning his boots it meant if you ever got to train with the first team you had a familiar face.

"I had a lad called Derek Duncan. He didn't play too often in the first team, but he was a good lad and I enjoyed my time there.

"Around my time there were a few other youngsters pushing for the first team as well so it was a place where you knew you had an opportunity."

But not long after he turned 19, Holloway bought him at Blackpool and Phillips made the jump from League Two to the Premier League.

"It kind of all happened really quickly," he said. "I think I was on the bus, just about to play Northampton away. I got the call saying to get off because I'd be going up to Blackpool.

"I think they were playing Fulham that day but traffic prevented me from getting there for kick-off. It wasn't until Christmas time when I sat back and thought 'I'm playing in the Premier League here' with the best players."

Holloway is famed for his unique character, and off-the-wall comments, and Phillips confirmed it wasn't all for show.

"That's exactly what he's like," he smiles. "It's not like he's one person in front of the cameras and someone else away from them."

In 2013, Phillips joined QPR, but it was a case of out of the frying pan and into the fire. By the end of his tenure, he was eager to join up with Pulis.

Now he's 25, he's entering the prime of his career and with the Baggies on such sure footing in the Premier League, there's every chance he's here to stay.

Albion are currently eighth in the league, and although they've disappointed in the cups this season, they could break their record Premier League points tally.

But Phillips knows not to think too far into the future, as he's quite enjoying his football right now.

"I try not to set targets now because that joins in with the pressure that I have talked about," he says. "I'm just taking the next game as it comes."