Killian Phillips brings best of Vieira to St Mirren as new signing opens up on 'worst feeling' he felt at Aberdeen

Killian Phillips hopes to bring a bit of Patrick Vieira to Paisley.

St Mirren have snapped up the Irish ace on a season-long loan from Crystal Palace with an obligation to buy, and the 22-year-old says lessons learned from his old Selhurst Park boss can help him be a Saints hit. Vieira brought Phillips straight into the first team fold after signing him from Drogheda in January 2022 and handed him a first-team debut against Oxford two years ago.

Phillips was gutted when the Arsenal legend was axed but will always cherish – and never forget – his influence. He said: “Vieira really took a liking to me. After the first week, I was up with the first team. I got to train with them more and more. It was surreal. Growing up in Ireland, I always watched battles between Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira – two people I looked up to.

“It was a great honour to work under Vieira. He started me in pre-season tour games against Liverpool and Manchester United and gave me my debut in English football. He gave me lots of tips and tricks that a world-class midfielder had when he played, so he was a great help.

“I was sad to see him go but he looked out for me pretty well. I still try my best to implement what I learned and work on them. All the stuff he taught me is always in the back of my head. It’s advice on how you play and also mentality. I will always be grateful. It was an unbelievable experience at Palace and I’ll forever be in debt to the club.”

Phillips was also farmed out on loan to Shrewsbury and Wycombe and spent the second half of last season at Aberdeen. He’s revealed how the biggest low of his days with the Dons convinced him that Paisley and not Pittodrie was the perfect Scottish stage for him.

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