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Loan midfielder Daniel Phillips will be fined the maximum amount says Gillingham manager Neil Harris after a costly red card in the match against Bolton.
Harris felt his dismissal was a game-changer. The Gills were 1-0 down at the time but still in the game. Phillips’ departure was shorty followed by Bolton’s second goal and they added a third late on to seal the points.
It was Phillips’ third red card of the season, all three coming after two bookable offences. His first dismissal came against Shrewsbury in August, a decision that led to a scuffle between both sets of management teams.
He was sent off again in January as the Gills were beaten 4-0 by Ipswich Town - Steve Evans’ last match in charge of the club. Cautions for a foul and dissent in the space of four minutes led to his exit that day.
It was another quickfire yellow-card double on Saturday, both for fouls this time, the first a late challenge and the second for bringing down a player as Bolton looked to break.
In addition, Phillips has picked up additional six yellow cards during his loan spell, overshadowing the efforts of a player who has undoubted talent. The 21-year-old will now miss more matches through suspension.
Bans and injuries have limited him to 22 appearances this season. The Kent FA’s disciplinary website states that Phillips' latest offence will see him banned for three games.
Harris said: “He is a young man and we can see he is extremely talented. I really enjoy working with him but he has to earn the trust of people and that will be a big ban for him, unfortunately.
“I can’t defend Dan for (the three red cards). If it is once as a 20-year-old you can defend it and say, ‘you have to learn from that.’ The second one it is reckless, it is poor decision making, and to happen three times, albeit the second one was different to the last red card here (at Priestfield), pulling shirts and tripping people, that was a genuine attempt to play the ball.
“However, three times, it is not a coincidence and he will be fined the maximum I can fine him, because he needs to learn.”
