SHOOTING STAR KEVIN PHILLIPS' GOAL VOW

OLD gunslinger Kevin ­Phillips yesterday vowed he will NEVER stop being ­­a Premier League sharpshooter.

The 36-year-old former Golden Boot winner scored twice in five minutes to sink brave Wolves and snatch ­victory for Birmingham.

Phillips came on as a sub for Alex McLeish’s men and ripped the heart out of struggling Wolves with two classy poacher’s goals.

And he’s not ready for Boot Hill yet as he declared he wanted to stay in the top flight as long as possible.

“I’m knackered! But I think I have proved that there is still something left in the tank,” he said.

“People write you off once you get into your 30s. I know I am getting near to the end of my career. No-one needs to tell me.

“But days like this remind me that I want to play at the very highest level 

as long as I can.” Delighted Brum boss McLeish admitted it had not been easy keeping one of the game’s great ­goalscorers straining at the leash.

He said: “Kevin is a natural finisher and you never lose that. It is the hallmark of a genius.

“He will go bald, he will lose his teeth and lose his pace, but these guys never lose that.”

McLeish revealed he had ­received several enquiries about the former Sunderland and England hitman during the transfer window.

He added: “He will get more pitch time here and I have told him that.

“It is difficult to keep his morale up because he has been a first choice all of his career.

“He is an exemplary professional.

“It is difficult for me to walk past him in the corridor sometimes and say to him, ‘Keep your chin up’. It sounds patronising. He does what he does. If you can get balls into the box, he will get goals and that is why I wanted to keep him.”

Phillips’ double was a ­dagger to the heart of the Wolves manager Mick ­McCarthy – his former boss at Sunderland.

He saw his side turn in a great display which looked like giving them victory only to see it all snatched away from him – on his 51st birthday just for good measure. He said: “It’s a cruel game. After the FA Cup exit to Crystal Palace, I was looking for a performance and I got it.

“I have never been in our dressing room when the ­players have been as ­disappointed.

“They feel hard done by. Some people might write us off but we have had that ­before.

“But with the amount of spirit we showed today, it would be remiss of anyone who did that.”

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