West Bromwich Albion winger Matty Phillips has revealed that Jake Livermore, Ahmed Hegazi and first-team coach Julian Dicks are among the hardest men at the Midlands club. 

All EFL games have been suspended for more than a month and look set to continue to be until further notice due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

During the delay, clubs have had to be creative to find a way to keep their fans entertained and an interview with Phillips has been published on the West Brom site today to do just that.

The article includes 10 questions, picked randomly from a possible 110, with some related to football and others more general.

In his interview, Phillips was asked who Albion's hardman was.

He replied: "Hardman? That’s a tough one. I’ve heard First Team Coach Julian Dicks can hold his own. Jake would be up there, I guess. Ahmed Hegazi isn’t one to be crossed.”

Slaven Bilic is a fiery manager and he demands a certain amount of physicality to his side, so it is perhaps no surprise that Phillips was unable to name just one.

The self-isolation West Brom quiz – Can you get 20 out of 20? Have a go now!

The Verdict

It's interesting to hear Phillips' verdict on this one as it gives us a little glimpse inside the Baggies dressing room and sheds some light on how he sees his teammates.

A no-nonsense and wily holding midfielder, Livermore has certainly been in his fair share of scraps, while there will be numerous strikers in both the Championship and Premier League that will remember a physical battle against Hegazi.

Dicks is a former West Ham United and Liverpool defender, who was known for his ill-discipline on the pitch and had the nickname 'The Terminator' – so there's no wonder he was included.