A landmark year for Killian Phillips concluded with League Cup glory for St Mirren and him being touted for the Ballon d’Or on Sky Sports News.
After the 3-1 win over Celtic – which gave St Mirren their first trophy in 13 years – two supporters with broad Dublin accents were vox-popped outside Hampden, one of them asserting, with impressive sincerity, that St Mirren Football Club “meant the world to him”.
Towards the end of the exchange, his mate muscled in on the shot specifically to propose Phillips for the Ballon d’Or, which he did with Rio Ferdinand-esque conviction.
“I knew all of them, yeah. They were my bleedin’ posse,” Phillips tells RTÉ Sport.
“They were mad, you know. When they told me that they were talking to Sky Sports, I was bleedin’ panicking.
“But then when I seen the interview, it wasn’t as bad as I thought. The lads are a good craic.”
These are giddy, almost surreal times for Scottish football.
After Rangers’ financial implosion in 2012, the comedian Kevin Bridges described Scottish football as a “two-horse race – and we’ve just lost a horse.”
By comparison, these days the Scottish top flight is a chaotic steeplechase, with plenty of compelling runners and numerous awkward hurdles to be navigated.
It’s not since Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen in 1984-85 that a team from outside the Old Firm has won the Scottish league. The following season, Hearts were on the cusp of the title only to butcher the league on the final day with a 2-0 loss away to Dundee. They might have clung on had Celtic not simultaneously hammered St Mirren 5-0 away from home, overhauling them on goal difference. The title hasn’t been out of Glasgow since.
As it stands now, almost 40 years later, Hearts are top of the league and looking capable of staying the course, while St Mirren have just sickened Celtic in a cup final.
Killian Phillips with the League Cup trophy
Phillips, whose loan deal from Crystal Palace was made permanent in May, was at the heart of midfield for the full 90 minutes as the Love Street club won only the fifth major trophy in their history.
Beginning his senior career at Drogheda United, who picked him up from Kilbarrack United in 2020, Phillips spent a season in the League of Ireland before being snapped up by Palace.
He was subsequently sent off on loan spells to Shrewbury Town, Wycombe Wanderers and Aberdeen, before a stellar spell with St Mirren in 2024-25, after which he collected the club’s Player of the Season award.
Afterwards, the Dubliner was quoted as saying that Celtic buy players for €10 million while St Mirren picked him up for a bag of crisps.
“I didn’t mean it with any disrespect. It was just a joke on the difference between the two clubs,” says Phillips.
“It is a big, big achievement for a club like St Mirren to beat Celtic. It’s been brilliant. It’s been a great buzz in and around the club and the town of Paisley, so it was fantastic for everyone involved.
“They’re [Celtic] a great side. They’ve been the best side in the country for the last 20, 30 years.
“Obviously with a new manager [Wilfried Nancy] coming in, we weren’t too sure how they were going to play, but I think we were set up excellent by the gaffer [Stephen Robinson] and the staff and we knew exactly what to do.”
Phillips, who made his international debut in the 1-1 draw with Senegal in June, was not part of the Ireland squad for the seismic November window.
The late Troy Parrott winner in Budapest sparked a days-long orgy of celebration and jubilant fan reaction videos briefly became the nation’s favourite form of content.
Phillips himself was watching the game back in his local in Kilbarrack, though he isn’t aware if there’s any footage of the scenes.
“I was in the Blackbanks in Kilbarrack, the pub just up the road,” said Phillips.
“By the end of it, the place was flipped. We couldn’t believe it. People, chairs, tables, everywhere. Nobody could really believe it.
“It was an unbelievable atmosphere so I could only imagine what it would have been like if I was there [in Budapest].
“I was speaking to Johnny [Kenny] after, I rang him to congratulate him on his debut and he was just saying how unbelievable it was. Even the squad couldn’t believe what had happened.”
Though he’s a non-drinker, he admitted his resolve on that front was tested: “I think that was the closest I’ve been to it!”
The Dubliner still harbours ambitions of breaking into the squad for a 2026 which is suddenly alive with possibilities, though he acknowledges that others may be ahead of him in the pecking order.
Killian Phillips in action in Yerevan
Phillips was one of the casualties of Ireland’s disastrous 2-1 loss in Armenia, a result which was assumed at the time to have wrecked any possibility of the team reaching the play-offs, let alone the World Cup proper.
The St Mirren midfielder was tossed into the fray for Josh Cullen with 20 minutes remaining, with Ireland deep in a quandary. He struggled to make an impact and was omitted from the squad for the two remaining windows.
Nonetheless, the St Mirren midfielder isn’t inclined to feel aggrieved.
“Look, something had to change, something did have to change. My own performance wasn’t the best in Armenia.
“I try my best not to point any fingers or anything like that. I try my best to look at my own performance and what I could have done better on that night. And I could have done better.
“The boys have performed, they’ve put themselves in with a chance of qualifying for the World Cup. After Armenia, no one would have thought it was possible.
“They’ve been very good. It’s just up to me to prove to the gaffer that I can help out the team.
“It’s going to take a lot of good, consistent performances. In fairness to the lads, a lot of them playing in the Championship, which is probably a higher level than the Scottish Premiership.
“I know that I need to do more and make sure my performances go up another level or two, which I know I’m capable of. It’s just about getting my head down and getting the work done.”