Wood Drawing Upon Phillips Experience

The New Zealand international has had to be patient this season, but with Phillips coaching the strikers in training, he is hoping that when the chances do come his way, he’ll be ready. 

“Kev [Phillips] is brilliant,” Wood told Foxes Player. “He shows us and tells us about his past experiences. He’s been through the ups and the downs so he’s a good one to have around the Club. He keeps on top of us strikers and makes sure that we’re doing extra training, so that when we do get the chances to score, we put them away. 

“I work hard trying to learn from Kev. I’m a great admirer of his and as a striker, he’s been around for years. He’s done the job, and to learn from him is a great experience.” 

Wood found the back of the net in City’s opening Premier League fixture of the season – a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Everton – but with game time hard to come by for many of the squad this season, he has been working hard to stay sharp. 

He added: “The international games when I go away with New Zealand are great for match practice and it’s always great to play for my country – it’s a great honour. 

“As I said I’ve just got to bide my time here, be patient wait for my chance and hopefully it will come. “The coaches keep on top of us and make sure we’re at peak fitness, so if we are called upon we’re ready to be thrown in and able to perform for 90 minutes. 

“We’re confident going into this game. We know we’ve got a good enough squad to do the business, so we’ve just got to put that into practice on game day.”