Phil is a former Rovers player, who first joined the club as an apprentice in July 1979. A talented goalkeeper, he represented England Schoolboys in 1978/79, and played in a Gloucestershire Cup Final, against Bristol City, in May 1980 before signing professional forms on his eighteenth birthday.
He made his league debut against Derby County in January 1981 and won an England Youth Cap that same year. Prior to joining Southampton in August 1984, he made 96 league appearances.
It was the first of a number of moves during his playing career. All told, he played league games for a total of thirteen clubs.
His final club, as a player, was with local rivals Bristol City, though when his good friend Ian Holloway became player/manager of Rovers, in 1996, he returned to the club as physiotherapist.
A spell out of the game, through injury, had helped shape his future career and he commenced his studies to become a chartered physiotherapist in 2001, qualifying four years later.
