Clarke and Phillips Set To Join Blades On Loan

Billy Clarke and Matt Phillips are today set to join League One side Sheffield United on a month’s loan apiece.

The pair are set to link up with Danny Wilson in a bid to regain confidence and form after struggling to make the expected impact on ‘Pool’s first team this season.

Both players turned down similar moves to Bristol Rovers earlier this month, prompting an Ian Holloway rant about the state of the game, but ‘Pool’s gaffer confirmed in his West Ham pre-match press conference that both players are set to join the Blades:

‘I want Matt to regain the total confidence he had in himself last year. Wherever I played him he was great. He scored from right back against Blackburn. He played right-wing at Manchester City and ripped their left-back apart.

‘As for Billy, I believe he needs to regain confidence in his body.

‘He has spent a whole year getting over his injury and he is probably in a worse mental state than all of us because he never even kicked a ball in the Premier League and we are out of it again. That must be hideous.

‘I don’t think it will take him long to get his sharpness and his belief back.

‘I’ve told Danny Wilson he can have them for 28 days and if it goes well I’ll get my blokes flying back.’

Provided the deals go through, both players could be set to make their debuts in the Sheffield derby this weekend.