Newtown: Phillips hails “strengthened” Robins squad

Jake Phillips has hailed the fellow new additions Newtown manager Chris Hughes has made to his squad this summer.

Phillips, 23, joined the Robins at the beginning of July following his departure from Airbus UK Broughton.

The defender made 19 appearances for the Wingmakers last season as they were relegated to the Cymru North.

Having signed for the Robins ahead of the new season, Phillips sees playing at Latham Park as a “new challenge.”

The full-back told Sgorio’s Dylan Ebenezer, “I am looking forward to starting. We don’t know when that will happen, but I’m looking forward.

“They’re a club that are always challenging for top six and a place in Europe.

It’s a new challenge for me after last season with Airbus. I was a bit disappointed with how the season ended and that I had to leave but of course, the aim is to play at the highest level and I’ll be in the Cymru Premier,” he added.

Phillips is one of six additions to Newtown’s squad this summer, following the arrivals of defender James O’Neill, midfielders George Hughes and Jordan Evans, along with attackers James Davies and Jamie Breese.

Eleven first-team players have also committed to the Robins, including key figures like Craig Williams, Kieran Mills-Evans, Dave Jones, Neil Mitchell, Sean McAllister, Jack Kelly and Nick Rushton.

Khamran Steventon, Matty Williams, Ryan Edwards and Tom Goodwin have also put pen-to-paper ahead of next season.

“I had a chat with Chris and a few players that had already signed from last year’s top six clubs,” said Phillips.

“It looks like Chris has strengthened the squad and I’m looking forward to being a part of that.”

“Other clubs have had to close the gap between them and The New Saints or between them and Bala and so on, and this could be the time for Newtown to think this is their time to push for fourth.”

“They’ll look at the players they’ve brought in and the players they’ve kept and think they can compete for that fourth spot. If you’re in the top six there’s always a chance of getting to Europe.”

With a mix of new additions and key players kept on, preparations are well underway ahead of next season.

Phillips said, “We’ve had an off-season training programme and I’ve been running this week.

“That’s all we’re doing at the moment. We had a zoom session like everybody else has been doing to have a bit of a catch-up and get to know each other.”

“It’s going to be an interesting time when football does return,” he added.

(Featured Image: Colin Ewart)