Former West Ham star Kevin Nolan has revealed the truth about why Kalvin Phillips’ loan move didn’t work out.

David Moyes will be remembered for many things at West Ham: coming in and keeping the club in the Premier League twice, giving fans three consecutive seasons of European football and, above all else, for delivering the fans their first piece of silverware in over 40 years. However, if there’s one part of his game that he should be remembered fondly for it’s his ability to get players back to their best.

Jesse Lingard, for example, looked to be all but finished as a player. Fans were confused when he joined on loan from Manchester United, but he went on to be one of the most talented players the club has had since Dimitri Payet, even if he was only with them for a few months. If not for his poor treatment of the club that gave him his second chance, his career could be in a much better place than it is now.

Another brilliant example is Craig Dawson, a centre-back that Watford fans laughed at us for signing, ended up going down as a cult hero and unanimously adored by the fanbase. Unfortunately, not every player who Moyes took under his wing was able to rejuvenate their career.

Kalvin Phillips is arguably the worst signing in West Ham’s history. His mistakes undoubtedly cost the club points, probably European football and, potentially, David Moyes his job. Everyone knew it would be tough for him after barely playing since joining Manchester City, but no one seemed to be able to put their finger on why he was so bad. Was it because of the physicality of not playing for so long, or was it the mental struggle that caused him to fail?

According to former player and, at the time of Phillips’ loan, coach Kevin Nolan, it was a mixture of both. “When he came down to London, he had just had a baby,” he began explaining to talkSPORT. “Everyone forgets those little bits, moving here, there and everywhere when we’ve got wives and kids.”

“To try and bed in with the squad then, it was a difficult time for him, off the pitch as well as on. Fingers crossed he gets the chance to go to another club, get fit and ready, and level with the other players. He’s not doing it for anybody else now, but he’ll want to show everyone that he can do it.”

Despite swearing at a fan, everyone who’s met him has only had good things to say about how he is as a person. He’s admitted to having some serious mental health issues and, hopefully, he’s able to overcome them to get back to the player he was at Leeds – the man deserves it.