What Kalvin Phillips did in the tunnel after West Ham red card speaks volumes

What Kalvin Phillips did after he was sent off spoke volumes about his current predicament at West Ham.

Last month Phillips joined West Ham on loan from Manchester City in a bid to resurrect his Premier League career, but so far his new start has proved to be a nightmare.

Phillips has failed to impress for David Moyes' side, and on Saturday he received two yellow cards in three minutes as the Hammers lost 2-0 to Nottingham Forest.

The 28-year-old was booked for pushing Nicolas Dominguez when the Forest player tried to stop him from taking a quick free-kick.

Minutes later, Phillips was shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Morgan Gibbs-White and saw red for the first time in his top flight career.

Phillips admitted that he waited outside referee Tom Bramall's dressing room for half an hour after the match as he wanted an explanation for his sending off.

"I waited outside the referee’s room to have a chat with him," Phillips said.

"But after half an hour he hadn’t come out. I don’t know if he knew I was there or not. I didn’t want to batter him. I just wanted to have a conversation about it.

"In the end, I’m going home without saying my piece. I’m just disappointed, more so because I’m working to get myself back into a position where I can help — but now I’ve got to miss a game."

The sending off capped a miserable first few weeks at West Ham for Phillips.

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He gifted Bournemouth an early goal with his first touch for the club, and he was again at fault for a goal in a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United three days later.

His manager would be forgiven for already losing patience with Phillips, but publicly, at least, he has been supportive of the midfielder.

"I thought Kalvin played much better today, he did a lot of good things," the under-fire manager said.

"The first one the boy's blocking him and he pushes him away because he's trying to play the game quick, as we're trying to get back in the game and win it.

"Nowadays you get booked for standing in front of the ball, so he shouldn't have pushed him, I get that.

"The second one - I've only been told - I haven't seen it. But they are saying the two boots are very close and they just come together. It looks like there was quite a meal made of it but that's the way it is."

Phillips's loan deal will expire at the end of the season, and his City contract is valid until 2028.