Gillingham loan midfielder Dan Phillips played a key role in keeping MK Dons quiet on New Year’s Day and loved the battle.

The Watford loanee has been one of the stand-out summer signings, limited to just 12 appearances after several injuries. The 20-year-old has shown steel in the tackle and quality on the ball in a Gills shirt.

Commenting after their goalless draw with MK Dons, Phillips said: “I hate losing, I hate getting beaten and you can see that on the pitch, it is a personal thing for me, I always like to win my one versus one battles and I think I did that.

“The whole team is pretty much no-nonsense and we are very much like that, everyone likes to win the ball, we don’t like to shirk out of tackles, it bodes well for the team.

“It was a massive performance from us, we dug deep and got through it and we were very happy with the point and a clean sheet, it’s a great way to start the year and a real good place to push on from.

“We are looking positively to the next few games thinking we can get some points now.”

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It’s been frustrating at times for Phillips, missing a large chunk of the opening half of the season with an ankle injury. Hamstring issues haven’t helped in recent weeks but the team’s Covid-enforced lay-off gave him chance to recover.

“It has been staggered for me,” said the young midfielder.

“I had an injury and came back in and probably played a bit more than I should have because of other injuries (to other players). I feel like I am starting to feel like myself so hopefully we can get a good run going.

“There was brilliant support from the fans as always and I think we gave them something to be proud of, something they deserved to see after a run of tough games. Hopefully we can give them more to be proud of.”

Phillips is a second cousin of former Gills favourite Ian Cox and consulted him before joining the club.

“He had nothing but good words to say,” Phillips said. “Credit to what he has done at the club because everyone talks about him so highly and I just want to make a name for myself at the club as well.”

Boss Steve Evans has certainly been impressed, describing Phillips' weekend performance as “sensational” and “exceptional.” He’ll now be hoping the youngster stays injury free to play a big part for the Gills for the remainder of the campaign.