Ash Phillips is relishing the prospect of stepping onto the pitch at Ewood Park again when Plymouth come to town.

The young defender is on loan from Tottenham, having left East Lancashire to sign for the Premier League side in the summer.

Phillips enjoyed a remarkable rise at Rovers, initially making his Under-21 debut as a 16-year-old and then stepping up to the first team picture within a year.

He played 14 times in all competitions last season, including eight league appearances as the side narrowly missed out on a play-off spot.

“I am really looking forward to it,” said the towering centre-back. “It is a club I was at since 12 or 13 years old. The club has been massive for me and my development so far as a player.

“It will be really good to go back and see some old faces, see some of the coaching staff who really helped me kick on as a player when I was young, helping me get that move to Tottenham Hotspur.

“It will be great to see them, but ultimately it is a big game for us and I will be fully focused on me, as a Plymouth Argyle player, and making sure we get three points.”

Phillips joined the Pilgrims in January and has made 12 appearances so far under former England Under-20 manager Ian Foster.

“It is a massive game,” he added. “We are in similar positions and three points could really help us in our fight to remain in the Championship, which we fully believe we can do.

“We are remaining positive. We have got 30 points to play for, 10 massive games now and we are taking each game as it comes.

“We are treating each game the same and, more than ever, we need to fight for the three points. As a squad, we fully believe we can do that.”

The youngster knows first-hand how dangerous Sam Szmodics can be but is excited to potentially come up against his former team-mate.

“I am looking forward to playing against him,” Phillips stated. “He has always been a good player, he has always had that ability.

“I know him fairly well, I feel like I can use that against him and hopefully stop him scoring. The partnership I have at the back with (Lewis) Gibson and (Brendan) Galloway is top.

“They are two great defenders and I feel like against any attack, we back ourselves - even against the teams at the top of the league. It is really easy to build a connection with them. From the first game together, we instantly clicked.

“I think we feed off each other really well. Gibson a leader in there, he helps me out quite a lot in the game. He is always talking to me, letting me know and getting me in the right position.

“Brendan has been a really good form recently. He is a top player and has played games at the highest level, and I have learnt a lot of both of them. I can take what I learn from them and bring it into my own game.

“It is always frustrating when you can concede a goal but if you keep a clean sheet like we did against Swansea - we dug in until the end and defended for our lives. The feeling after getting a clean sheet is amazing.”