Kalvin Phillips responded angrily to criticism from West Ham fans as his nightmare loan spell from Manchester City went from bad to worse on Saturday.
The midfielder is enduring a torrid stint with the Hammers having joined from the defending champions in January on a deal that includes the option for a permanent summer transfer, committing numerous costly mistakes and losing his place in the England squad as Euro 2024 looms this summer.
The latest of those errors came at St James’ Park on Saturday, where West Ham led hosts Newcastle 3-1 with just 13 minutes to go in a Premier League thriller before inexplicably going on to lose 4-3 after a complete meltdown.
Phillips made another disappointing cameo off the bench on Tyneside, giving away a penalty for the hosts’ second goal, dispatched by Alexander Isak, after bringing down Anthony Gordon inside the box.
Newcastle’s second spot-kick of the afternoon was given after a lengthy VAR check, a contentious decision that was criticised by frustrated West Ham boss David Moyes.
Phillips was subject to more criticism from travelling Hammers fans after the game, with one supporter heard to call him “useless” as he boarded the team bus at St James’ Park to return to London.
In footage that has since circulated widely on social media, the 28-year-old was then filmed through the windscreen raising his middle finger in response. West Ham declined to comment on the incident when contacted by Standard Sport.
Earlier, Moyes admitted that the decision to replace striker Michail Antonio with Phillips with around 20 minutes left to play against Newcastle “had not worked”, but he refused to criticise the player as he bemoaned the penalty decision.
"The penalty kick is a huge turning point, but I also thought we made a change because we felt as if they had got on top and missed a couple of chances,” said the Scot.
"We tried to give ourselves another midfield player at 3-1 up and we didn't want to wait for it to get to 3-2.
"Probably that decision didn't work on the day, but more importantly I think the boy [Gordon] puts his foot in front of Kalvin and I don't know how he's supposed to see his leg.
"The penalty kick makes it 3-2 and we had been doing OK. We gave up a couple of chances before that which I didn't like and they had started to get some control shooting down the hill, but we had another day when very few things went for us.”
He added on the Phillips substitution: “They had missed big chances and I was trying to make sure we weren't going to lose and make the change in a positive fashion. We tried to make it at that time, and obviously it didn't work out.
"But I'm not going to say anything about any player. I wouldn't do that, it would be wrong."
