Nick Ross believes new Ross County forward Kieran Phillips possesses the attributes to thrive in the Scottish Premiership.
Phillips joined County on a two-and-a-half year deal from Huddersfield Town earlier this month.
He made his debut in last Saturday’s 4-1 defeat to Celtic – winning the penalty which Jordan White scored for the Staggies.
Former Everton youth player Phillips had a number of loan spells at English clubs during his five-year stint at Huddersfield, but was most recently with American outfit Sacramento Republic.
It was a productive spell in the USL Championship, during which he netted 15 goals in 31 outings.
Among his Sacramento team-mates was Inverness-born midfielder Ross, who was part of Caley Thistle’s 2015 Scottish Cup winning team.
‘He has the speed to cause anyone problems’
Ross insists the speed and finishing ability which Phillips possessed made him a dream to link up with – and he is confident the attacker can transfer those qualities to Dingwall.
Ross said: “Almost halfway through the season, we had started off really strong and we needed someone to keep us going.
“He came in and did really well. He’s got a lot of quality in his finishing, for a lot of his goals he made it look easy but they were difficult finishes.
“He has pace that causes defenders a lot of problems.
“If you look back at the goals he scored for us, a lot of them were really similar. There were a lot of balls over the top, and he ran through and chipped it over the goalkeeper.
“He became a big player for us.
“I started in the middle, and then I got pushed on halfway through the season to play close to him.
“I really enjoyed it. He was really easy to play with, I knew I just had to get the ball and play it down the side of him and his pace would get him there.
“He has the speed to cause anyone problems. He’s a really good finisher, so if he gets chances he’s going to score goals.”
Phillips took lifestyle challenges in stride
The temporary switch to California exposed Phillips to a number of different lifestyle factors.
A change in USL Championship format now sees Western Conference side Sacramento face teams in the eastern part of the country, which involved taking two flights each way for games against the likes of Miami and Rhode Island.
Along with the vast travelling demands, games are also played in a range of different climates, including intense heat, humidity and altitude.
Ross was impressed with the way Phillips took the different challenges in his stride, adding: “I like Kieran a lot – he just got on with everything.
“He had been at Everton when he was a young boy, and was at a good level at Huddersfield. He could easily have come here and complained about our travelling, and our facilities which were nowhere near what he is used to.
“He just came and got on with it, and embraced it. All the boys really liked him and were sad to see him go. He added a lot to the changing room, as well as on the pitch.
“It took him a while to adjust because he was coming from Huddersfield, to play in 30 or 40 degrees heat.
“Kieran really seemed to like the lifestyle though. There is nice weather, and Sacramento is a good place to live where the people really care about football.
“They really took to him, because he was producing on the pitch. He was a big favourite.
“We will miss him – but I’m happy where he is.”
Ross spoke to forward ahead of Staggies move
Staggies boss Don Cowie had been chasing Phillips since last summer, with Ross revealing the Englishman sounded him out over what to expect in the Highlands ahead of the move.
Ross added: “I spoke to [Ross County assistant] Carl Tremarco a couple of times about Kieran. They had been interested in him for a while.
“I spoke to Kieran a couple of weeks ago on the phone, just to tell him what to expect – what it’s like living there and what it’s like in the league.
“He seemed really excited. He’s in a good quality league and I’m sure he will go and do well.
“It’s hard to compare the standard. I have not been there for a while.
“The league has probably improved, but this league has also improved since I have been here.
“It’s a good standard here. It’s obviously a step up when you are going to play teams like Celtic, but I think coming here and playing regularly, and getting a lot of goals has helped him.
“I’m excited to see what he can do at County.
“If he does well, he’s in the shop window for other teams in Scotland or England. He’s still a good age, and he wants to do the best he can and make a good career for himself.
“He could have just stayed in England and picked up a decent salary. But the whole time he was here he was talking about wanting to find somewhere he could play regularly.”
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