Jesse Marsch sends Neville and Carragher into fits with Kalvin Phillips quip - Daily Star 18/3/22

Leeds boss Jesse Marsch had Sky Sports duo Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher cracking up with his brutal honesty after their incredible 3-2 win over Wolves on Friday night

Jesse Marsch sent Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher into fits of laughter with a hilarious quip about Kalvin Phillips after their dramatic 3-2 win at Wolves.

Marsch was in buoyant mood after watching his side come back from 2-0 down to grab all three points at Molineux. But it wasn't all good news for the American boss who saw Patrick Bamford, Illan Meslier, Robin Koch, and Diego Llorente all leave the field through injury in the west Midlands.

That left precious little opportunity for Marsch to introduce England international Phillips, who has been out injured for over three months and was named in a matchday squad for the first time since December 5. Despite his presence among the substitutes, the Leeds boss revealed afterwards that it was never the plan for Phillips to play a part in the match.

Marsch spoke about Phillips' inclusion in the squad after the match with Sky Sports pundits Carragher and Neville. Asked by Neville whether he thought about bringing the midfielder on, Marsch replied: "No. To be honest with you guys he was never going to play."

That prompted howls of laughter from the Carragher, Neville and Kelly Cates, all three of whom clearly appreciated the manager's honesty. Marsch then explained his comments, saying: "Liam [Cooper] could have played.

"We have injuries with a lot of our U23s guys from the Manchester United match in midweek, so we didn't have many players to put in the roster. Having Kalvin with the team, I think, was great, and even on the bench, he was fantastic."

The quartet shared another laugh as Neville referenced the celebrations for Luke Ayling's late winner in stoppage time, with Phillips and the rest of the Leeds substitutes running across the pitch to celebrate.

Victory lifted Leeds seven points clear of the relegation zone with eight games of the season remaining. Their next match is against Southampton after the international break before a six-pointer against Watford on April 9.