Phillips produced another solid performance in the middle of the park as Leeds beat Everton 1-0 away from home at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The midfielder was highly influential as Leeds dominated Everton in the middle of the park and Raphinha scored the goal in the 79th minute to win the three points for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
Howe stressed the importance of Phillips in the Leeds midfield and feels that the stability that he provides to the team gives the confidence to the players to go forward and attack.
The former Bournemouth boss also feels the midfielder’s ability on the ball often goes unnoticed and pointed towards the quality of his passing in Leeds’ win over Everton on Saturday.
Howe said on Premier League TV post match: “He is a hugely influential figure for Leeds.
“I think he gives them the stability and the confidence for all their other players to attack.
“You can see their full-backs are really front foot – left-back and right-back overlapping and underlapping.
“He is always there when they need him to counter any threat on transitions or counter-attacks.
“But also we saw how good he is with the ball and his ability to switch the ball and hit long passes.
“He was excellent.”
Phillips recently missed several games due to an injury, but is now back and a regular on the team-sheet for the Yorkshire giants.
